Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez/KJZZ

A Mesa police officer demonstrates a body camera.

Can wearing a camera help police officers and prosecutors? That is what an Arizona State University year-long study examined. Fifty Mesa police officers wore the shoulder-mounted mini-cameras. The research evaluated officer accountability and citizen complaints.  

Criminology Professor Justin Ready said preliminary results found officers collected higher quality evidence while wearing the devices.

“About 75 percent of the officers we have been studying believe the video evidence would help prosecute domestic violence cases and other types of criminal cases if the victim was unwilling to testify," said Ready. 

Ready said the study also found more than a 40 percent reduction of complaints against officers who were wearing the cameras. As a result of the study, the Mesa Police Department has decided to buy more cameras.