The study further demonstrates the benefits of applying psychosocial theories to the study of social control and deterrence theories more broadly, with a robust and falsifiable mechanism that explains the conditions under which being observed stimulates either appropriate or perverse consequences. This mechanism is potentially a function of “over-deterrence”. Results suggest that under some circumstances, self-awareness can lead to excessive self-inspection that strips power-holders of their ability to function under extreme situations. Once self-aware that their performance is being observed by BWCs, officers become at risk of being assaulted. We explain these findings using self-awareness theory. At the same time, before–after analyses show that assaults were overall reduced by 61% in the participating police departments, thus suggesting paradoxical effects. The backfiring treatment effect was substantially more pronounced in low discretion sites, i.e., where officers strongly followed the experimental protocol (OR = 2.565 95% CI 1.792, 3.672). The perverse direction and relative magnitude in each experimental site in eight out of ten sites were consistent. ResultsĪ total of 394 assaults per 1000 arrests occurred during 3637 treatment shifts (M = 39.35, SD = 17.89) compared with 284 assaults per 1000 arrests during 3697 control shifts (M = 28.38 SD = 15.99), which translate into 37% higher odds of assault in treatment shifts than in control conditions. Finally, before-analyses are applied as well, including Bootstrapping and Monte-Carlo simulations to further validate the results under stricter statistical conditions, to illustrate the overall effects. Further subgroup analyses are performed in terms of varying degrees of officers’ discretion, to enhance the practical applications of this multisite experiment. Odds ratios are used to estimate the treatment effect on assaults, along with “one study removed” sensitivity analyses. MethodsĪ multisite randomized controlled trial in ten departments, with officers wearing (or not wearing) BWCs based on random assignment of shifts. In this study, we report on the paradoxical effects of BWCs in the context of assaults on officers. Recently, scholars have applied self-awareness theory to explain why body-worn cameras (BWCs) affect encounters between the public and police, with its most immediate manifestation being a reduction in the use of force by and complaints against police.
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