Police body-worn camera technology in response to domestic and family violence
Project Team
Project directors: Associate Professor Mary Iliadis
Principal Chief Investigator, Deakin University
Project team:
Associate Professor Mary Iliadis
Principal Chief Investigator, Deakin University
Associate Professor Bridget Harris
Chief Investigator, Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre
bridget.harris@monash.edu
Associate Professor Danielle Tyson
Chief Investigator, Deakin University
danielle.tyson@deakin.edu.au
Professor Asher Flynn Chief Investigator, ARC Centre for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW)
asher.flynn@monash.edu
Dr Zarina Vakhitova
Chief Investigator, Senior Lecturer, Monash University
zarina.vakhitova@monash.edu
Project contact:
Associate Professor Mary Iliadis
Principal Chief Investigator, Deakin University
About this project
The project broke new ground by generating much-needed empirical research on the use, efficacy, perceived benefits and limitations of police BWC footage in response to DFV, including its evidentiary use in court proceedings and State responses, for example, in Child Protection and family law matters. The findings, combined with the research findings from the researcher’s pilot study, provide a strong evidence base for the development of future legal reform, policy and practice, particularly for those jurisdictions seeking to review the impact of BWCs in response to DFV, and on victim/survivors especially.
Research aims
To examine the merits, benefits and unintended consequences of police body-worn camera (BWC) technology in response to domestic and family violence (DFV) incidents from the perspectives of victim/survivors nationwide
Method
The police body-worn camera project is a mixed methods study leading to multiple research outputs. The methods used in these projects include a survey with Australian police members in Queensland and Western Australia (n = 452), and in-depth interviews with DFV stakeholders (n = 30), and victim/survivors (n = 15).
Funding Acknowledgment
This project was funded by a Criminology Research Grant.
Research Outputs
Iliadis, M., Vakhitova, Z., Harris, B., Tyson , D., & Flynn, A. (2021). Police body-worn cameras in response to domestic and family violence: a study of police perceptions and experiences. In A. Powell, A. Flynn, & L. Sugiura (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Gendered Violence and Technology (1st ed., pp. 417-439). Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-83734-1_21
Vakhitova, Z., Iliadis, M., Harris, B., Tyson, D., & Flynn, A. (2022). The merits and risks of body-worn camera footage in domestic and family violence incidents and legal proceedings: a study of police perceptions and experiences. Policing and Society, 33(2), 170–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2022.2082421
Iliadis, M., Harris, B., Vakhitova, Z., Flynn, A., & Tyson, D. (Accepted/In press). Police body-worn cameras as a response to domestic and family violence: practitioner insights into the consequences for victim/survivors. Violence Against Women. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012231185541
Iliadis, M., Harris, B., Vakhitova, Z., Woodlock, D., Flynn, A., & Tyson, D. (2024). Police body-worn camera technologies in responses to domestic and family violence: A national study of victim-survivor perspectives and experiences. Australian Institute of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.52922/crg77260
Iliadis, M., Harris, B. A., Vakhitova, Z., Woodlock, D., Flynn, A., & Tyson, D. (2024). How police body-worn cameras can facilitate misidentification in domestic and family violence responses. Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, 684, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.52922/ti77277