Using problem-oriented policing to address police problems through the study of body-worn camera footage
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X20924445 |
| Published date | 01 June 2021 |
| Date | 01 June 2021 |
| Author | Sarah Scott,Wendi Pollock,Eric Moore |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Using problem-oriented
policing to address police
problems through the
study of body-worn camera
footage
Wendi Pollock , Sarah Scott and Eric Moore
Department of Social Sciences, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi,
Corpus Christi, TX, USA
Abstract
Herman Goldstein’s concept of ‘problem-oriented policing’ (POP) emphasized data
gathering, analytics, and pattern identification to allow police to more effectively address
problems faced by citizens in their communities. One of the most pressing problems in
modern policing,however, is how departments should respond to accusations that police
are not fair andconsistent in their dealingswith the public. In this article,the research team
examined 1 year of officer body-worn camera footage, to create a roadmap of how the
scanning, analysis, response, and assessment method of POP can be utilized to address
public concerns by assessing and addressing how police interact with the public.
Keywords
Problem-oriented policing, body-worn cameras
Herman Goldstein’s concept of ‘problem-oriented policing’ (POP) has become enor-
mously influential since he first propounded the idea in a 1979 journal article and further
elaborated on it in his 1990 book of that title. Goldstein’s paradigm emphasized the
importance of outcome-oriented police planning and deployment of resources. This
more nuanced deployment was to be informed by a constant intelligence and analysis
loop. Comprehensive data gathering, sophisticated analytics, and pattern identification
Corresponding author:
Wendi Pollock, Department of Social Sciences, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive,
Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA.
Email: Wendi.Pollock@tamucc.edu
The Police Journal:
Theory, Practice and Principles
2021, Vol. 94(2) 166–183
ªThe Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/0032258X20924445
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characterized his suggested intelligence process. The products of that process were to be
considered strategically in assigning police resources and setting police objectives.
Policing was to become proactive not reactive; ‘problem-oriented’ as opposed to pro-
cess-oriented.
Goldstein’s impact can be measured in part by the fact that he has been cited over
100,000 times in criminal justice literature (‘Google Scholar’, 2019). POP features
prominently in the mission statement of the Police Executive Research Forum and is
the organizing principle of the George Mason University Center for Evidence-Based
Crime Policy. Important successes in policin g have been obtained through the POP
model in places such as Newport News, Virginia, under the aegis of depa rtment of
justice (DOJ) and National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funding (Eck and Spelman,
1987). This article argues that the proliferation of body-worn cameras (BWCs) among
police agencies will provide a substantial source of original data that can be integrated
into the POP process.
One of the most pressing problems in modern policing is how departments are to
respond to accusations that police are not fair and consistent in their dealings with the
public, particularly with regard to use of force against citizens of color. Since 2015, the
Washington Post has maintained a digital database of every civilian shot and killed by
police officers in the United States (‘Fatal force’, 2019). While the database fails to
include several important distinctions regarding the legality or propriety of the officers’
actions, the very fact that the database exists serves as evidence that segments of the
American public believe there are widespread problems centered around police/citizen
interactions. Police departments are being pressured to ‘do something’ to ensure that
their officers are treating people fairly and to ensure that officers are being held accoun-
table for any improper actions before those actions result in someone’s death. Police
managers versed in problem-oriented or data-driven policing are beginning to seek data
that can help them develop policies and trainings to satisfy public demand and reduce the
likelihood of citizens being harmed during police encounters.
In this article, we purport that the proliferation of BWCs among police agencies
provide a substantial source of original data that can be integrated into the POP process.
Most studies of BWCs to date situate the cameras as an intervention and focus on the
anticipated effects of their use (e.g. reductions in officer use of force and reductions in
citizen complaints). The present study extends the examination of BWCs beyond the
mere impact of their presence and demonstrates that the cameras themselves provide a
rich source of jurisdiction specific data that can be used by proactive departments to
identify and address policing problems as well as increase transparency and trust with the
communities that they serve.
What follows is an exemplar of how one police department was able to harness data
from their BWC program in order to more thoroughly study the interactions between
police and the local citizens. This provided department leadership with information that
could be incorporated into training and policy as well as an opportunity to increase
transparency and trust with the local community.
The research team examined 1 year of BWC footage from a police department which
has been using BWCs since 2012. The data collected from the footage were utilized to
create a more complete picture of the number and nature of problems that occur during
Pollock et al. 167
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