Study: Body Cameras Slash Complaints Against Officers

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LONDON (CBSMiami/AP) — Body Cameras on officers prompted a 93 percent drop in complaints made against them, according to a new study of British and U.S. Police.

Cambridge Univesity researchers suggest that cameras encourage best behavior on the part of both the officers and the public.

The study involved West Midlands Police, West Yorkshire Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Police Service of Northern Ireland and departments in Ventura, California, and Rialto, California. Some 2,000 officers and 1.4 million working hours were studied over a year.

Barak Ariel, who led the research, says the idea behind the study is simple: people who are being observed — and know it — change their behavior.

Ariel says that "everyone is recording the police except themselves. Now we have something from the officer's point of view."

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