Community Supervision Officers’ Perspectives on The Utilization of Body-Worn Cameras in Community Supervision

<i>Body-worn cameras (BWCs) continue to be examined, primarily within the context of police departments, as a tool to increase community and law enforcement relations across the United States. Unfortunately, little research has examined the possible use of BWCs within community supervision agencies. Thus, the current study examines BWCs within the context of community supervision. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were gathered among CSOs and administrators from a large community supervision agency on the verge of adopting BWC technologies. Results point to five prevailing perceptions of BWCs rooted in the types of accounts BWC footage is said to provide including (1) useful, (2) trustworthy, (3) untrustworthy, (4) intrusive and (5) punitive. Findings are considered in the context of the community supervision occupational culture and organizational context. Lastly, it is imperative that community supervision agencies who have or are considering implementing BWCs have clear policies and procedures regarding the privacy of bystanders and activation and deactivation protocol.</i>