LAPD officer

Los Angeles Police Plan to Review Body Camera Footage for Instances of ‘Biased Policing’

The new approach to reviewing officers’ footage comes as researchers question how much impact body cameras have had on police behavior.

Body cameras worn by Los Angeles police officers record over 14,000 interactions each day. Now, the department is implementing a policy to review random recordings to check if officers are following certain guidelines in how they interact with residents.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, a union that represents police officers, to allow officers to inspect footage that does not involve arrests or use of force, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The goal is to allow department supervisors to determine if some cops need additional training to address issues with biased policing. Footage will be reviewed to ensure that officers explain their actions when they stop people and are not rude, Moore told the Times.

The “vast majority” of inspections will likely show officers acting consistent with the department’s expectations, Moore added.

“We can improve the public’s trust,” Moore said on Wednesday. “It’s an opportunity to make sure people are being treated fairly.”

The new review policy is a change from the department’s previous practices, where supervisors only reviewed body camera footage if it involved an arrest or officers’ use of force. Shane Murphy Goldsmith said she was happy to see the department acknowledge complaints of biased policing and adopt a “comprehensive” approach to addressing the issue.

“[The plan to inspect] video footage to identify trends, develop training and hold officers accountable to the highest standard of fair and unbiased policing is a big step forward,” Goldsmith said.

Since field-testing body cameras in 2014, the LAPD has deployed more than 7,000, according to the Times. The department’s new approach can also be seen as a response to criticisms that body cameras have not had a substantial impact on the prevalence of biased policing. One 2019 study, conducted by researchers at the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University, found that body cameras did not have a consistent or significant effect on either officer behavior or public views of police.

That’s because body cameras cannot be seen as an “easy panacea for improving police performance, accountability and relationships with citizens,” the researchers wrote. Police and researchers need to address how body-worn cameras “can be used in police training, management and internal investigations to achieve more fundamental organizational changes,” the George Mason researchers said.

That seems to be the idea behind the policy change in Los Angeles. Tom Saggau, a police union spokesperson, said that his organization stands behind the new inspection policy and that police leaders can discipline officers for misconduct captured on their cameras.

“If they identify misconduct, then the chips will fall how they fall,” he said.

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

  • Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

    An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now

  • ASIS International Introduces New ANSI-Approved Investigations Standard

    • Guard Services
  • Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now

  • Report: Nearly 1 in 5 Healthcare Leaders Say Cyberattacks Have Impacted Patient Care

    Omega Systems, a provider of managed IT and security services, today released new research that reveals the growing impact of cybersecurity challenges on leading healthcare organizations and patient safety. According to the 2025 Healthcare IT Landscape Report, 19% of healthcare leaders say a cyberattack has already disrupted patient care, and more than half (52%) believe a fatal cyber-related incident is inevitable within the next five years. Read Now

New Products

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.