St. Louis Approves Police Body Cams, Study Shows They Don't Work

At a contentious board meeting in September, the city's top officials approved a plan to equip metropolitan police officers with 1,300 body cameras, provided free for one year by the company Axon, formerly Taser International. A longer-term contract will be negotiated by the end of the year, and the city will solicit competitive bids from Axon and other companies. Body cameras are supposed to reduce the use of force by police and protect officers from false accusations of misconduct. But, a new study by researchers from The Lab@DC suggests they may not be effective at either.

The team of scientists, acting under the authority of the mayor's office, partnered with the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to follow more than 2,000 officers for 18 months. They found no significant difference in the number of citizen complaints or use of force between officers equipped with body cameras and those without.

Recent cases like the trial of Raymond Tensing for the shooting of Samuel DuBose highlight the difficulty of convicting police officers of murder, even when video of the incident exists. After two hung juries, prosecutors in Cincinnati have announced they will not try the former officer again.

The study may give ammunition to the St. Louis Police Union, which says officers have been targeted for discipline and their video footage taken out of context, and to board members who wonder if body cameras are worth the cost. But, many activists remain committed to the initiative, citing smaller studies that do show positive effects for body cameras.

Photo by Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press