Purpose This study advances our knowledge about the effectiveness of body-worn cameras (BWCs) through exploring the perceptions of English police officers in three principal areas: positive perceptions, negative perceptions and evidence-focussed perceptions. In doing so, the purpose of this paper is to shed new light on the democratising process in the habitus of policing. Design/methodology/approach This study presents a novel data set that evaluates the introduction of BWC to police officers in the East Midlands area of England. The authors conducted an extensive survey to explore the perceptions of 162 police officers about the BWCs. The authors examined the empirical data using Stata within the theoretical framework of Pierre Bourdieu concerning the concept of habitus. Findings The authors have found that most police officers perceive that BWCs have a positive impact on policing practices and evidence collection. The positive perceptions and evidence-focussed perceptions increase the importance of BWCs; however, there are also negative perceptions regarding effective policing, administrative functionality and establishing a better relationship with the community. The authors argued that all three areas: positive perceptions, negative perceptions and evidence-focussed perceptions play a stimulating role to democratise the habitus of policing. On the other hand, BWCs do not guarantee the consolidation of democratic principles in the habitus of policing because of the authority of police to decide when, where and how to use BWCs. Research limitations/implications The research is limited to the perceptions of 162 police officers in East Midlands before they actually started using it. A future study to analyse their real-life experiences after using the BWCs may help us to compare their perceptions before using it with real-life experiences after BWCs are used. In addition, a comparative approach between countries in future research will help to explain the role of technological applications in different social geographies and legal systems. Originality/value This study offers new insights about the perceptions of police on BWCs before they started using them. The authors introduce the democratic habitus of policing as an innovative concept and explored power dynamics in the habitus of policing through BWCs. The findings provide a strong empirical contribution to determine the conditions of democratic habitus of policing. In doing so, this study develops our theoretical knowledge about the habitus concept in sociology by employing BWCs in policing activities.

中文翻译：

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戴在身上的相机：确定警务的民主习性

目的本研究通过在三个主要方面探索英国警官的观念，从而提高了我们对随身摄像机（BWC）有效性的认识：积极观念，消极观念和以证据为中心的观念。这样做的目的是要揭示警务习惯中的民主化进程。设计/方法/方法这项研究提供了一个新颖的数据集，该数据集评估了将BWC引入英格兰东米德兰兹地区的警务人员的情况。作者进行了广泛的调查，以探讨162名警察对BWC的看法。作者在Pierre Bourdieu关于惯性概念的理论框架内使用Stata检验了经验数据。调查结果作者发现，大多数警务人员都认为，《生物武器公约》对警务做法和证据收集有积极影响。积极的看法和注重证据的看法增加了生物武器公约的重要性；但是，对于有效的治安，行政职能以及与社区建立更好的关系也存在负面看法。作者认为，这三个领域：积极的看法，消极的看法和以证据为中心的看法在使警务的习惯民主化方面起着促进作用。另一方面，由于警察有权决定何时，何地以及如何使用《生物武器公约》，因此，《生物武器公约》不能保证在治安的习惯中巩固民主原则。研究的局限性/意义该研究仅限于东米德兰兹地区的162名警官实际开始使用之前的感知。将来进行的一项研究，以分析他们在使用《生物武器公约》后的真实生活经验，可以帮助我们将其使用前的感受与使用《生物武器公约》后的真实经验进行比较。此外，在未来研究中各国之间的比较方法将有助于解释技术应用在不同社会地理和法律体系中的作用。原创性/价值这项研究提供了有关警察在开始使用《生物武器公约》之前的看法的新见解。作者将警务的民主习惯介绍为一种创新概念，并通过《生物武器公约》探讨了警务惯用中的权力动力。这些发现为确定警务民主习惯的条件提供了强大的经验贡献。通过这样做，本研究通过在警务活动中使用BWC来发展我们对社会学中的习性概念的理论知识。