False Hope: Body-Worn Cameras as Community Policing in Durham, North Carolina

Undergraduate: Vishnu Ramachandran

Faculty Advisor: Torin Monahan
Department: Computer Science

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Police body cameras are often presented as a tool for reducing police violence while also enhancing trust and accountability. However, the policies governing the technology can call these goals into question. To explore the assumptions behind police body cameras and the ways their uses are shaped by local context, this paper follows the city council debates leading to the adoption of¿¿¿and policy guidelines for¿¿¿police body cameras in Durham, North Carolina. In this example, we see that the city council aimed to promote community policing through body camera usage, to allow the citizens to ¿¿¿police¿¿¿ the police and increase trust. The policy guidelines, on the other hand, create nebulous expectations for police behavior and fail to acknowledge power asymmetries. Furthermore, the video access statutes grant significant discretion to the police department and its officers but limit public oversight. Finally, the asset forfeiture funds used to finance the program arouse concerns about exploitation. Ultimately, Durham¿¿¿s implementation of police body cameras strays far from its community policing goals.