Police Cameras are Growing in Popularity

In what is starting to become a trend, police departments across the country are beginning to equip their officers with body-mounted cameras. These small cameras that police can append to their uniforms or eyeglasses are becoming more accessible, and more popular. A New York Times article from Sunday attributes the recent surge in popularity to the making of odd bedfellows. Civil rights groups such as the ACLU, in addition to the Justice Department, agree that the cameras could promote justice “in interactions between the public and law enforcement.”

Do Police Cameras Mean More Transparency and Accountability?

The hope is that utilizing these cameras will provide more transparency and also more individual accountability for patrol officers. Police agencies hope to avoid the chaotic unrest and aftermath following tragic police shootings, such as the one in Ferguson, MO. The Times article detailed over a dozen law enforcement agencies—in places like Ferguson, Flagstaff, Ariz., Minneapolis, Norfolk, Va., Miami Beach—that have all said they are going to start arming their police with cameras. In addition, the New York Police Department is planning on rolling out its own program. In New Jersey, all municipal police departments are required to purchase body-mounted cameras, and the cost for the program will be offset by a new fine leveled at drunk drivers.

Fort Worth is at the Forefront

Fort Worth Police have launched one of the biggest camera programs in the country, according to the Times article. They have pumped close to $3 million into the program to this point. When this went down, I wrote about this investment here in March. This money has been used to purchase more than 600 cameras, camera accessories, and storage for all of the data—which is around 64 terabytes per year. The incredible data storage that is required is one of the challenges with the cameras. Keeping every video of every officer encounter will add up quickly. Some of the criticism of the program centers on privacy concerns—how will Fort Worth protect against hackers? Will the videos blur faces of victims and others? And what is the procedure for deleting videos after disposition? These are questions that will have to play out.

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