Importance of Body Worn Cameras - Assignment Example

This research will focus on the technological aspects of BWCs and the occupational aspects of police officers in the United Arab Emirates. This study will narrow its focus to the emirates of Abu Dhabi. The study will also conduct a comprehensive review of the reception of BWCs by the police forces for their usage in the policing system. This research study will use qualitative methods of data collection specifically observations and interviews.

Data for this research study were obtained from three data collection methods including semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and video recordings in three sampled police stations in Abu Dhabi. The study sample will consist of 24 police officers with 8 participants from each of the three police stations, 2 court staff, 3 solicitors, and 3 IT department personnel. The data analysis was exercised through the partnership between the three police stations in Abu Dhabi and the researchers to evaluate the adoption, importance, and challenges of using body-worn cameras among police officers in Abu Dhabi. In 2015, the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai started testing body-worn cameras for use in police departments in the two emirates. The trials were meant to assess the cameras away to increase police officers’ accountability, reduce public complaints, and enhance criminal prosecutions.

Observation is a popular data collection method used to gather dabody-worning the observable aspects, such as verbal and physical, of task performance. Observation will form the starting point of this investigation, and the qualitative data derived will form the input for various other Human Factors methods including human error identification and analysis, task analysis, teamwork assessment methods, and process charting. According to Salmon, Stanton, Gibbon, Jenkins, and Walker (2012), in studies in which there are difficulties in gaining access to the study subjects, the observational study offers the most suitable means of collecting data. Since it is difficult to collect data from police participants, the observation method is the best method of collecting data. Also, a questionnaire, the other method of qualitative analysis is not suitable in this case. There may be no opportunity for questionable

Based on the principal-agent model, police officers should always comply with the predetermined rules and regulations in the presence of body-worn cameras or any other surveillance cameras. It is expected that the use of BWCs among police officers in Abu Dhabi will increase the compliance of police officers and provide the justice system with a good basis for establishing the prosecutions of suspects and avoiding judging them without evidence. On the other hand, BWCs will help reduce the number of public complaints against police officers.

• • Research Design

It is very challenging to conduct a study capturing the effects of BWC technology on the behavior of human agents in public agencies, especially police agencies. Similarly, it is also very difficult to design such a study. This is largely attributed to the fact that the outcomes of the actions of police officers in performing their law maintenance duties depend on the administrative capacity of their organizational culture. This introduces a difficult time for the researchers to isolate the specific impact of BWC technology.