Body-Worn Cameras to Prevent Workplace Aggression Among Ticket Inspectors: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Talk by postdoc Camilla Bank Friis, Aalborg University.
Service and frontline personnel are among the occupational groups with the highest rates of workplace aggression. To address the risk of victimization, body-worn cameras are increasingly implemented. However, evidence of their effectiveness remains inconclusive, with existing studies heavily concentrated in U.S. policing contexts, limiting the generalizability of findings across settings.
This study aims to strengthen the evidence base through a randomized controlled trial testing the preventive effect of body-worn cameras among 55 ticket inspectors from three public transport companies in Denmark. The main analysis compares wearing a camera versus not wearing a camera across 2,153 inspection shifts to test its effect on passenger aggression and self-perceived safety. A secondary analysis, restricted to two companies, additionally tests whether a visible badge notifying passengers of potential recording strengthens any preventive effect. Moreover, field observations offer in-depth insights into the cameras’ influence during interactions. This study presents a rare randomized controlled trial on the preventive effect of body-worn cameras against workplace aggression outside a U.S. policing context. The research discusses practical implications for deploying this technology to reduce workplace aggression.