Body-Worn Video through the Lens of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in London: Implications for Future Research

The College of Policing, the Metropolitan Police Service, and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime designed and implemented the largest randomized controlled trial of body-worn video (BWV) cameras to date, to test its impact on a range of outcomes, including criminal justice outcomes, complaints made against the police, stop and search, officer attitudes, and public experience. This article summarizes the finding of the trial relating to interactions between the police and the public, drawing on analysis of surveys and interviews with officers and a range of administrative data. The article explores how BWV might affect police–public interactions and highlights a number of gaps in the evidence that may benefit further research.