TO: Sheryl Sculley, City Manager
FROM: William P. McManus, Chief of Police
COPY: Mayor Julian Castro, Councilman Diego Bernal, District 1; Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran, District 3; Councilman Rey Saldaña, District 4; Councilman Ron Nirenberg, District 8; Erik Walsh, Deputy City Manager
SUBJECT: Body Worn Police Camera Pilot
DATE: January 10, 2014
SUMMARY
The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) proposes conducting a pilot program to determine the feasibility and costs of deploying a body worn police camera system for patrol officers.
BACKGROUND
The San Antonio Airport Police has already conducted a successful pilot and will begin using body worn cameras unit wide by spring 2014. Furthermore, SAPD has installed mobile video and voice recording equipment (COBAN) in 664 patrol vehicles and will complete installation in the remaining 27 this spring, to gather video evidence on offenders as well as improve officer safety and accountability.
Body worn cameras are a relatively new development in policing and the subject of much interest in the law enforcement and civil liberties communities. Preliminary research conducted by SAPD reveals that while no comparable cities have a fully implemented program several have conducted limited pilots including Austin, Houston, Fort Worth, Corpus Christi and Phoenix.
Proponents of these cameras argue that recording police interactions with citizens may help protect police departments from spurious lawsuits, protect citizens from police misconduct, and provide evidentiary support in criminal cases.
However, civil rights groups and legal experts have raised some concerns about this technology. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued a brief outlining its concerns about data retention and security, privacy concerns, and the lack of a model policy regulating use of the technology.
PILOT
SAPD will conduct a twelve month pilot program to deploy a variety of body worn cameras to the Downtown Foot/Bike and Patrol Units. The pilot will be designed to gather data on the effects on citizen and police behavior, evidentiary value, operation feasibility, program costs, compatibility with COBAN, and other factors.
During this pilot, SAPD staff will continue to monitor the results of other cities' pilots, and collaborate with the Police Executive Research Forum to develop best practices and a model policy. Equipment for the pilot is expected to be deployed during the spring. SAPD will report the results to the Governance Committee in December 2014.
The Department has begun contacting camera vendors seeking trial equipment at little to no cost. Additionally, SAPD will work with vendors and ITSD to minimize any additional costs associated with the pilot. Both the SAPD Labor Relations Committee and the San Antonio Police Officers' Association will assist in the development and review of the pilot and make a recommendation to the Chief of Police regarding the feasibility of using the equipment within the department, what cameras should be used, and timeline for deployment within the department.