A criminological critique of body worn cameras in policing : the case of the United Arab Emirates

Alshehhi, M

Abstract

The thesis critically examines the qualitative experiences of Body Worn Cameras (BWCs) amongst a sample of police officers in UAE prior to the formal implementation of this technology. It considers the relevance, strengths and limitations of BWC technology and use in the context of UAE providing a coherent critical theoretical assessment of the use of BWCs in UAE against the extant criminological, sociology of technology and service innovation and learning literature.


The research composes, present and analyses three qualitative datasets; firstly, the results of three-months observation of Abu Dhabi Patrol Officers’ use of BWC, secondly the results of 700 hours of critical incidents chosen by criminal investigation officers as illustrating issues relating to the use of BWC and thirdly, the results of thirty-eight interviews with junior and senior police officers selected from the Abu Dhabi force for their familiarity with various aspects of BWC usage.


The thesis reviews all of the previous research on use of BWCs by police concluding that much of this literature is not relevant outside of the US and UK where it was conducted, since police in these countries face legitimacy challenges from minority (often racial groups) which distorts the reasons for introducing BWCs and the use to which they are put. The research further concludes that effective use of the occupational cultures as a lens for understanding innovations such as BWCs is only effective where wider culture and context is also reference. For example, in Abu Dhabi the Arab and Islamic culture and context significantly affects the logic of practice in using BWCs. These two conclusions form the major theoretical contribution of this research.

Citation

Alshehhi, M. (in press). A criminological critique of body worn cameras in policing : the case of the United Arab Emirates. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Acceptance Date: Dec 14, 2018
• Deposit Date: Dec 18, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 18, 2019
• Additional Information: Funders : Sharjah Government "Police Science Academy"; Projects : A Criminological Critique of Body Worn Cameras in Policing: The Case of the United Arab Emirates
• Award Date: Oct 6, 2018