The Possibilities and Pitfalls of the Use of Accountability Technologies in the Governance of Police Stops

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in policing and the governance of policing. Already at the end of the twentieth century, digitalisation was seen as a tool to enhance transparency and accountability in a cost-efficient way. Police stops imply police officers on the move and, therefore, mobile technologies may be involved in governance. These technologies are raising new issues for both the police and the public. The main goal of the chapter is to provide a comprehensive comparative analysis of the state of the art and the possibilities and pitfalls of the use of police accountability technologies focussing on the role of body worn cameras within the governance of police stops in Belgium, Croatia, England, Germany and Scotland.