Police in Rialto, CA wear body cams with striking results... [View all]
In 2012, Rialto, a small city in California's San Bernardino County, outfitted its police officers with small Body Cams to be worn at all times and record all working hours. The $900 cameras weighed 108 grams and were small enough to fit on each officer's collar or sunglasses. They recorded full-color video for up to 12 hours, which was automatically uploaded at the end of each shift, where it could be held and analyzed in a central database.
When researchers studied the effect of cameras on police behavior, the conclusions were striking. Within a year, the number of complaints filed against police officers in Rialto fell by 88 percent and "use of force" fell by 59 percent. When you put a camera on a police officer, they tend to behave a little better, follow the rules a little better, Chief William A. Farrar, the Rialto police chief, told the New York Times. And if a citizen knows the officer is wearing a camera, chances are the citizen will behave a little better.
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/08/americas-weaponized-police-force-could-benefit-from-one-more-weapon-cameras/376063/