# Body-worn cameras to prevent workplace aggression among ticket inspectors: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial

## TL;DR

This study tests if body-worn cameras reduce workplace aggression for Danish ticket inspectors through a randomized trial.

## Contribution

It provides novel evidence on body-worn cameras' effectiveness in preventing aggression outside U.S. policing.

## Key findings

- The trial will assess if cameras reduce aggression during 3,000 shifts across three transport companies.
- A secondary analysis will test if visible badges enhance the cameras' preventive effect.
- Field observations will explore how cameras influence passenger interactions.

## Abstract

Service and frontline personnel are among the occupational groups with the highest rates of workplace aggression. To address the risk of victimization, various preventive measures have been introduced, with body-worn cameras increasingly adopted. 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 ticket inspectors in Denmark.

The trial will involve approximately 60 inspectors employed by three Danish public transport companies. Randomization will occur at the shift level, yielding approximately 3,000 shifts in total. The main analysis compares wearing a camera versus not wearing a camera, pooling data from all three companies. A secondary analysis, restricted to two companies, additionally tests whether a visible badge notifying passengers of potential recording strengthens any preventive effect. In parallel, field observations of inspection workdays will be conducted to gain in-depth insights into how and why cameras may influence 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. If the hypothesis of a preventive effect is confirmed, the findings will have direct practical implications for deploying this technology to reduce workplace aggression.