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The need to augment human capabilities through computer-based technologies, and a belief in the “objectivity” of data has contributed to the popularity of wearables. Such is the case with BWCs and their proliferation in police organizations. Unfortunately, BWCs have not been studied from an IS perspective, using specific or complementary theories applied in IS. We address this gap with a case study of a mid-sized police department, using a sociomaterial lens. We find that BWCs have triggered significant unanticipated changes in police practice. The impacts of these changes are not uniformly distributed. Rank-and-file patrol officers carry the burden upfront, while evidence technicians are burdened on the backend. We contribute by providing an actual account of the changes and impacts of BWCs in policing; providing initial evidence of how BWCs meet policing goals; and demonstrating the applicability of sociomateriality in explicating wearable technologies in general, and BWCs in particular. 

IS researchers have used several theoretical lenses, singly or in combination, to shed light on IS phenomena. Such development is encouraged as a necessary ingredient in the intellectual endeavor to build a cumulative tradition. We continue in that endeavor by introducing assemblage theory to provide a lucid elucidation of organizations as social machine assemblages. We provide examples involving the use of police Body-Worn Cameras to illustrate the potential of assemblage theory as a philosophical foundation with the facilities and flexibility to advance understandings along a continuum of configurations of social and material interactions in organizations. Our research contributes to the IS knowledge base by demonstrating how assemblage theory accommodates the oppositional swings in the agency-structure debate, and add clarity to the notion of sociomateriality, a new and evolving area of IS scholarship. Additionally, we augment DeLanda’s presentation of assemblage theory to improve its appeal and amenability for IS research.