Police cameras negatively affect an officer's performance

Wearing body cameras may backfire on police officers. Where police have strong levels of discretion on when to use their cameras. This discretion may already carry the risk of being questioned by the department if officers fail to switch on their cameras as frequently as suggested. Where police have less discretion, this creates an environment where there are policies in place for the officer to switch their cameras on and off, which may lead to more time on camera. There are also variants between. Where a police officer may follow their policies and switch on the camera, this may seek to add an extra layer of detterence. This is where the officer may follow the rules and switch on their camera, but at the fear of how their superiors will view their actions, will either over-regiment to be seen as abiding or under police to not risk being seen as unfair. This does not allow the officer to use their skill and discretion to understand and adapt to the person they are faced with's circumstances. This may be subject to criticism of their policing irrespectively. Another impact is where there are instances, as studies have suggested, of civilian violence against police. If someone is aggressive towards the officer, they usually are in a position to apply more force. In the presence of a body camera, this may lead to the officer to re-think applying the force, and so may resist doing so, rendering them unable to complete their policing duties. ^[1]