THE RECORDING OF POLICE STOPS: METHODS AND ISSUES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Researched and written by Michael Shiner, Rebekah Delsol, and Rachel Neild. Edited by David Berry. Thanks to the police departments that shared information on their stop recording practices, and to the officers and others interviewed about their experiences. Copyright © 2020 Open Society Foundations This publication is available as a PDF on the Open Society Foundations website under a Creative Commons license that allows copying and distributing the publication, only in its entirety, as long as it is attributed to the Open Society Foundations and used for noncommercial educational or public policy purposes. Photographs may not be used separately from the publication. Published by: Open Society Foundations 224 West 57th Street New York, NY 10019 USA www.OpenSocietyFoundations.org For more information contact: Rebekah Delsol
[email protected] Cover design and layout by Ahlgrim Design Group TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 Executive summary and recommendations 10 1. Introduction • Recording as ‘real’ police work • Assessing accountability, bureaucracy, and compliance • Methodology • Overview of the report 15 2. Origins and development of recording in England and Wales, the United States, and elsewhere • Recording practices in England and Wales • Recording practices in the United States • Recording practices in other jurisdictions 23 3. What data needs to be collected and why • Collecting ethnic data • Other data • Post-stop police conduct • Additional information for intelligence purposes • Benchmarking and analysing stop data 36 4. Methods of recording • Paper forms • Dispatch radios • Mobile devices • Body-worn cameras/video 62 5. Policy and practice • Resistance to reform • Leadership • Compliance, messaging, and training • Procurement and software development • Managerial and oversight value of stop data 75 6.