Body-Worn Cameras Are Not Transparency Tools. They’re Risk Systems

Agencies that treat body-worn cameras primarily as transparency tools usually miss their real value.

BWC programs succeed or fail based on how well they function as risk-management systems—not recording devices.

The questions leadership should be asking are not:

• Did we capture video?

• Did we release it on time?

They should be:

• Are we reviewing consistently at scale?

• Are decisions defensible across hundreds or thousands of incidents?

• Are we reducing institutional risk—or simply documenting it?

When BWCs are governed intentionally, they surface patterns early, inform training before problems escalate, and support leadership decisions with context rather than hindsight.

Transparency is an outcome. Risk management is the work.

At Principis Group, we help agencies move beyond capture and disclosure by designing body-worn camera review and governance systems that work at scale. Our consulting and training focus on consistency, defensibility, and early risk identification—so leaders are supported by context and patterns, not hindsight or volume alone.