Systematic social event modeling: a methodology for analyzing body-worn camera footage

ABSTRACT

The growth of multimedia and increasing archival of this footage by public safety agencies presents as a watershed moment in converting this footage into actionable data that can inform and improve public safety practice. However, despite the considerable volume of archival footage, there remains a profound lack of research leveraging this data. While data access will always remain an issue to researchers, this article argues that a lack of tools and methodologies for working with this data remains a barrier. As such, this article introduces a technique blending the best practices of systematic social observation and event modeling for deconstructing body-worn cameras, or other recorded observational data. Incorporating an empirical example detailing the application of the technique, this article summarizes the value of this integrated technique, while providing guidance on different analytical approaches.

KEYWORDS:

• Police Use of Force
• body-Worn Cameras
• systematic Social Observation
• event Modeling
• situational Analysis

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Nicholas Lovrich for is feedback on an earlier version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David A. Makin

David A. Makin is the Lab Director of the Complex Social Interactions Lab and associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University. His research explores the impact of technology and policy on public safety; sustainable technology integration; systemic social observation and event modeling, and refinement of, and evaluation of, public safety education and training.

Dale W. Willits

Dale W. Willits is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University. His research interests include the situational examination of conflict and violence, the social context of policing, and contemporary drug policy.

Rachael Brooks

Rachael Brooks is a doctoral student in the Criminal Justice & Criminology Department and is the lab manager of the Complex Social Interaction Lab (CSI Lab) at Washington State University. Her research primarily focuses on police behavior and the impacts of stress on decision-making.