An Examination of Police Body-Worn Camera Surveillance Governance and Equity in Metropolitan Police Department Deployment, Washington, D.C. 2015–2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33423/n1xqtx22Keywords:
leadership, accountability, ethics, surveillance governance, body-worn cameras, police accountability, spatial equity, reflexive governance, Reflective Surveillance Governance (RSG), public sector leadershipAbstract
This study applies a Reflective Surveillance Governance (RSG) framework to evaluate Washington, D.C.’s body-worn camera program across 2015–2025. Through qualitative documentary analysis of 17 governance documents spanning procurement contracts, policies, and oversight records, the research assesses institutional capacity for transparency, accountability, and spatial equity between Wards 7–8 and Wards 2–3. Findings reveal a composite Low Assessment / Low Monitoring / Low Adaptation profile, documenting a persistent binding–non-binding paradox in which equity principles are advocated in oversight forums but systematically absent from enforceable instruments. The study contributes a transferable framework for evaluating municipal surveillance governance.
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