Skip to content
ProPublica Donate
ProPublica Donate
Criminal Justice

Black Boxes

How Police Undermined the Promise of Body Cameras

Body-worn cameras were supposed to deliver a revolution in transparency and accountability to policing. But in cities across America, the revolution never arrived.

Impact of Our Reporting
Caret

Black Boxes

NYPD Will Stop Withholding Body-Camera Footage of Police Shootings From Civilian Investigators

After questions from ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, the New York Police Department pledged to end its practice of not sharing videos in ongoing investigations with the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

The NYPD Files

Judge Says NYPD Illegally Withheld Footage in Police Shootings

A New York state judge said the NYPD was operating in “bad faith” when it denied requests to release body-worn camera footage from the killing of Kawaski Trawick.

New Yorkers Were Choked, Beaten and Tased by NYPD Officers. The Commissioner Buried Their Cases.

Police Departments Are Turning to AI to Sift Through Millions of Hours of Unreviewed Body-Cam Footage

How Chicago Became an Unlikely Leader in Body-Camera Transparency

When Alabama Police Kill, Surviving Family Can Fight Years to See Bodycam Footage. There’s No Guarantee They Will.

Body Cameras Were Sold as a Tool of Police Reform. Ten Years Later, Most of the Footage Is Kept From Public View.

The NYPD Denied Our Request for Body Camera Footage of a “Friendly Fire” Killing. Here’s How We Got It Anyway.

NYPD “Friendly Fire” Killed an Officer. Investigators Seemed to Ignore Video of Police Being Commanded to “Stop Shooting.”

Video Showed an Officer Trying to Stop His Partner From Killing a Man. Now We Know Police Investigators Never Even Asked About the Footage.

Police Watchdog Calls for Full Access to Body Cam Footage. The NYPD Says No.

“Nobody” Hurt, “Just a Perp,” Say Officers After NYPD Shot and Killed Man in His Own Home

The NYPD Is Withholding Evidence From Investigations Into Police Abuse

The NYPD Isn’t Giving Critical Bodycam Footage to Officials Investigating Alleged Abuse