SUMMARY:
The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) is conducting a pilot program to determine the benefits, feasibility, and cost of deploying a body worn police camera system for patrol officers.
BACKGROUND:
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. The San Antonio Airport Police has already conducted a successful pilot and will begin using body worn cameras unit wide by spring 2014.
Body worn cameras are a relatively new development in policing and the subject of much interest in the law enforcement and civil liberties communities. Fort Worth has completed testing and has deployed 200 units to supplement their in-car video. Houston has completed testing with 100 units and is considering replacing in-car video with body worn cameras. Several other cities are still testing the technology, including: Austin, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Corpus Christi, Dallas, and El Paso.
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 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 test six different models of body worn cameras (150 units - 25 units per model) for six months starting in March 2014. The equipment will be tested by volunteers from the Downtown Foot/Bike Unit and Patrol Units across the City. The pilot will be designed to gather data on the technology's effects on citizen and police behavior/accountability, evide...
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