IEEE Spectrum has an in-depth article on the effectiveness of police body cameras [ieee.org] in reducing the use of force by police officers.
The article is written by Dr Barak Ariel [cam.ac.uk] of the Institute of Criminology at Cambridge University
Sometimes police body cameras accomplish their intended purpose, but other times they backfire. And nobody knows why
...
There have been nearly 40 studies on the use of body cameras, including a dozen randomized controlled trials on the magnitude of their effect on policing. Despite all this work, it’s still not entirely apparent why these cameras are helpful, under what conditions, or for whom.Here I’d like to offer my interpretation of all that research and to delve into what sets police body cameras apart from other video-recording equipment, such as closed-circuit television, dashcams, and everyday smartphone cameras.