Thesis Paper

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Joe Willis

Dr. Joseph Finck

Liberty University, CJUS 420: Criminal Investigation I

02 February 2026

The Impact of Body-Worn Cameras on Evidence Integrity in Criminal Investigations

Thesis Statement

Body-worn cameras enhance the integrity and accountability of evidence in criminal investigations by providing more accurate documentation and reducing bias in its analysis.

Background / Brief Literature Review of Topic

According to recent studies, body-worn cameras (BWCs) can enhance the criminal investigation process by providing objective, real-time records of police interactions. Research indicates that BWC footage enhances the quality of evidence, facilitates decision-making during the investigation process, and helps prosecutors by providing stable visual evidence that can support the documents provided by officers and eyewitnesses (Lum et al., 2019). The importance of this technological development has been growing, as courts and the public expect even greater transparency and accuracy in investigative practices.BWCs are one of the factors that make officers less prone to complaints and more prone to commit professional acts, which, in turn, promotes the integrity of criminal investigations. Patterson and White (2021) discovePatterson and White (2021) found that the regular use of BWC facilitates standardized evidence gathering and reduces controversies around investigative procedures. Note that it is essential to have transparent policies about the activation, storage, and access to footage to support the evidentiary value during the investigation.

References

Lum, C., Stoltz, M., Koper, C. S., & Scherer, J. A. (2019). Research on body‐worn cameras: What we know, what we need to know. Criminology & public policy, 18(1), 93-118. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1745-9133.12412

Patterson, Q., & White, M. D. (2021). Is there a civilizing effect on citizens? Testing the pre-conditions for body-worn camera-induced behavior change. Police Quarterly,24(4), 411-437. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1098611121996716