Police Body Cameras Work

The first ever large, randomized control trial of police body cameras found that their use cut both the use of force and citizen complaints in half.

Alex Tabarrok:

Police cameras will have some negative effects. When a police officer is accused of something will lawyers have the right to subpoena years of camera footage looking for anything problematic? Think about the OJ case. Perhaps tape should be erased after one year. Nevertheless, the results of the study are impressive. More generally, I worry that there is no solution to the problem of government mass surveillance but at the very least we can turn the cameras around and even the playing field.

Amen to that.

This is from the list of the ten most popular posts of the year at Marginal Revolution, which is a fascinating grab bag of ideas.