OFFICER’S AWARENESS OF CAMERA DURING ENCOUNTERS WITH CITIZENS

Body-worn cameras have been construed as a potent solution to negative outcomes that takes place between officers and citizens, and their use has spread across police departments. Yet the impact of body worn cameras is inconsistent. Scholars have suggested that when the awareness of a camera is initiated, the actual effectiveness of body-worn cameras will take place. This thesis examines the association between awareness of body-worn cameras BWC and citizen resistance during police-citizen encounters. Overall, it was found that citizen resistance is more likely when there is officer awareness of body-worn camera. This thesis contributes to the literature of body-worn cameras and attempts to examine the area suggested to be a root cause for the inconsistent effects of body worn cameras during encounters