The Society of Evidence-Based Policing presented its 2013 Award for Excellence in Evidence-Based Policing to Chief Tony Farrar at the 2013 Conference on Evidence-Based Policing at the University of Cambridge (UK) in July. The award is given annually for outstanding policing research that advances the evidence base in policing and informs police practice.
Chief Farrar’s extensive yearlong study evaluated the effect of body-worn video cameras on police use-of-force and citizen complaints. This randomized controlled trial represents the first experimental evaluation of body-worn video cameras used in police patrol practices. Cameras were deployed to all patrol officers in the Rialto (CA) Police Department. Every police patrol shift during the 12-month period was assigned to experimental or control conditions. The findings suggest more than a 50 percent reduction in the total number of incidents of use-of-force compared to control-conditions, and nearly ten times more citizens’ complaints in the 12 months prior to the experiment.
In presenting the award, Chief Superintendent Alex Murray of the West Midlands (UK) Police and chair of the Society of Evidence-Based Policing said, “Chief Farrar’s commitment to conducting rigorous scientific research on a technology initiative has broad implications for the field of policing. Across the UK, for example, police forces have looked at these research findings and are planning to replicate the experiment.”
A police officer for over 30 years, Chief Farrar holds master’s degrees in both administration of justice and business administration and a bachelor’s degree in police science. He graduated from the Police Executive Program at Cambridge University’s Institute of Criminology (UK) with a master’s degree in criminology in July 2013.
The Society of Evidence-Based Policing is a group of police practitioners and researchers who are committed to producing, implementing, and disseminating evidence-based policing research that can positively impact communities. The Annual Award for Excellence in Evidence-Based Policing is given to an individual or organization that has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in this area. Last year, the award was given to the British Transport Police for their study randomly allocating London Underground Station hot spots for intensive patrol and impacting calls for service and crime.
The New York Times reported on the study in April 2013. The full study can be found here.