Expert: Research suggests police body cams have a 'civilizing effect'

Body camera in Duluth
In this Feb. 2, 2015, photo, Duluth police officer Dan Merseth wears a body camera. Starting Wednesday, St. Paul police will begin testing different camera systems.
Jim Mone | AP 2015

Starting Wednesday, about 40 St. Paul officers will put on their uniforms with a new piece of gear: a body camera.

The city's police department plans to test different camera systems for the next 60 days before moving forward with the technology.

As of last week, police officers throughout Minneapolis now wear them.

It's part of a national trend and the hope is that body cameras will provide an objective record of law enforcement's interactions with the public.

MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Nancy La Vigne, the director of the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., about body cameras.

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