St. John Fisher College Fisher Digital Publications Education Doctoral Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education 8-2017 From Behind the Lens: Police Officerer P ceptions as Body-Worn Cameras are Introduced Into the New York City Police Department Kishon C. Hickman Sr. [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/education_etd Part of the Education Commons How has open access to Fisher Digital Publications benefited ou?y Recommended Citation Hickman, Kishon C. Sr., "From Behind the Lens: Police Officer Perceptions as Body-Worn Cameras are Introduced Into the New York City Police Department" (2017). Education Doctoral. Paper 298. Please note that the Recommended Citation provides general citation information and may not be appropriate for your discipline. To receive help in creating a citation based on your discipline, please visit http://libguides.sjfc.edu/citations. This document is posted at https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/education_etd/298 and is brought to you for free and open access by Fisher Digital Publications at St. John Fisher College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. From Behind the Lens: Police Officer Perceptions as Body-Worn Cameras are Introduced Into the New York City Police Department Abstract In 2014, the U.S. District Court ordered the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to test the use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) after finding that their stop, question, and frisk practices violated the rights of some minority New Yorkers. The ruling in Floyd v. City of New York (2013) mandated the recording of future interactions to determine if behavior would be influenced. A otalt of 54 volunteer officers wore a BWC for a 1-year period and were assigned to six precincts, all selected due to the high frequency of stop, question, and frisk reports prepared by patrol officers. Thisesear r ch examined patrol officer perceptions of the BWC from the lens of the NYPD’s two-officer patrol car. The study revealed unique access to 54 volunteer officers and their non-camera-wearing patrol partners, as they recorded citizen interactions during this pilot period. Further, this study examined the extent officers were open to the adoption of BWCs, providing some of the first-ever evidence for or against claims of increased transparency, accountability and improvements in both officer and citizen behavior during encounters. The respondents’ demographic data were analyzed to determine any relationship with particular viewpoints toward the BWC. The results suggest that patrol officers ear in favor of the adoption of a BWC program, and that the BWC had little to no effect on their patrol partnerships. Results also suggest that officerselt f comfortable wearing BWCs, and that regardless of their age, gender, years of police experience or years partnering, the existence of the BWC made for better police service in New York City. Document Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Education (EdD) Department Executive Leadership First Supervisor Michael Muffs Subject Categories Education This dissertation is available at Fisher Digital Publications: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/education_etd/298 From Behind the Lens: Police Officer Perceptions as Body-Worn Cameras are Introduced Into the New York City Police Department By Kishon C. Hickman, Sr. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Ed.D. in Executive Leadership Supervised by Dr. Michael Muffs Committee Member Dr. Jeannine Jennette Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education St. John Fisher College August 2017 Copyright by Kishon C. Hickman, Sr. 2017 Dedication In Travels with Charley: In Search of America, John Steinbeck wrote that “A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.” This dissertation is dedicated to my mother, Eloise Hickman, herself a career educator. She is my inspiration as she always taught me to believe in the value of learning. She has lived her life educating others and building bridges to help connect those who were less fortunate to make it in mainstream society. It was your dedication to empowering the voiceless and the weak that led me on a God-guided journey through this—my dream of attaining a doctorate. I share this degree with you and will forever remember the many conversations we shared. I love you and thank you for the life that you have given me. I thank you for raising me with discipline, which resulted in me conquering the many obstacles and molded me into a person who seeks equality for all citizens in our society. Without those good traits, attaining this degree would not have been possible. Arriving at this pivotal point in my educational journey was no accident. It was primarily through the support of my loving wife, Nakia, and our 9-year-old son, Kishon, Jr., that gave me the energy to complete this endeavor. They understood the rigors of this voyage, yet they remained encouraged as I completed it. For that, I love them. iii I wish to acknowledge and express my appreciation for the guidance, patience, and support of my committee: Dr. Michael Muffs and Dr. Jeannine Jennette. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Kris Baker and Mrs. Sarah Levy who first suggested I consider entering a doctoral program. Their advice and encouragement, early on, made a difference during my educational quest. Also, a host of friends guided me through this study and all it became: Dr. Pierre Hinton, Dr. Gilbert Louis, Dr. Anthony Chiarlitti, Dr. John Cominski, Dr. Thomas Carey, Dr. Michael Verro, Dallas Police Lt. Roy Alston, Ph.D, Oakland Police Captain Paul Figueroa, Ph.D, Randy Inniss, Esq., Ed Incle, Esq., Antonio Cruz, Ed.S, Keith Kopinski, Dennis Vernooy, John Wheeler, Thomas Finlayson and Arad Namin. Additionally, I owe much to the men and women I worked beside in the NYPD and to my superiors, The Honorable NYPD Police Commissioner James O’Neill, First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker, Deputy Commissioner of Training Dr. Tracey Keesee, Chief of Patrol Terence Monahan, Assistant Chief Rodney Harrison, Deputy Chief Nilda Hofmann, Deputy Chief Dennis DeQuatro, Inspector Kevin Nicholson and Sgt. Rudy Hall. Not only did they support my efforts to pursue this degree, they also routinely demonstrated a paragon of support, and each taught me a great deal over the years about what it means to be a police officer in this great city. Their example and instruction inspired me to further examine this technology, as it becomes an integral part of a police officer’s uniform. iv Biographical Sketch Kishon C. Hickman, Sr. is currently the Special Operations Lieutenant at the 49th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. Mr. Hickman attended Polytechnic Institute of New York University from 1997 to 2001 and graduated with a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Mathematics. He attended Seton Hall University from 2008 to 2011 and graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Police Studies. He came to St. John Fisher College in the summer of 2015 and began doctoral studies in the Ed.D. Program in Executive Leadership. Mr. Hickman pursued his research on police officer perceptions as body-worn cameras are introduced into the New York City Police Department, under the direction of Dr. Michael Muffs and Dr. Jeannine Jennette and received the Ed.D. degree in 2017. v Abstract In 2014, the U.S. District Court ordered the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to test the use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) after finding that their stop, question, and frisk practices violated the rights of some minority New Yorkers. The ruling in Floyd v. City of New York (2013) mandated the recording of future interactions to determine if behavior would be influenced. A total of 54 volunteer officers wore a BWC for a 1-year period and were assigned to six precincts, all selected due to the high frequency of stop, question, and frisk reports prepared by patrol officers. This research examined patrol officer perceptions of the BWC from the lens of the NYPD’s two-officer patrol car. The study revealed unique access to 54 volunteer officers and their non-camera-wearing patrol partners, as they recorded citizen interactions during this pilot period. Further, this study examined the extent officers were open to the adoption of BWCs, providing some of the first-ever evidence for or against claims of increased transparency, accountability and improvements in both officer and citizen behavior during encounters. The respondents’ demographic data were analyzed to determine any relationship with particular viewpoints toward the BWC. The results suggest that patrol officers are in favor of the adoption of a BWC program, and that the BWC had little to no effect on their patrol partnerships. Results also suggest that officers felt comfortable wearing BWCs, and that regardless of their age, gender, years of police experience or years partnering, the existence of the BWC made for better police service in New York City. vi Table of Contents Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Biographical Sketch ............................................................................................................ v Abstract .............................................................................................................................. vi Table of Contents .............................................................................................................