Local Police Expected To Used Body Cameras; Could They Change Policing Forever?

Chief Thomas Nestel of SEPTA’s police department says he believes officers in the future should be assigned a badge, a gun and body camera when they graduate the academy.

If chiefs like Nestel get their way, body cameras will become commonplace in modern policing.

The move to make body cameras a staple of police uniforms, like the duty belt or bullet-resistant vest, has grown in recent weeks after civil unrest following the grand jury verdicts in the deaths of Missouri 18-year-old Michael Brown and 43-year-old Eric Gardner in New York.

Following an uproar over the grand jury decisions not to indict the police officers involved in the deaths of the two men and conflicting witness accounts of the two incidents, President Barack Obama has requested more than $260 million to fund police body cameras and additional training for law enforcement.

The cameras – many times not larger than a cell phone – can capture clear video and audio of officers’ interactions with the public. Departments can by cameras small enough that they can clip onto a shirt, sunglasses or hat. Officers would have the ability to hit the record button whenever they interact with the public. When the officers get back to their police station, the video can be uploaded to a computer system.

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said last week that he supports the use of body cameras for police.

“A picture is worth a thousand words. Those body cameras would have helped the police officer in Ferguson show he was telling the truth,” he said.

In the Levittown area, several police departments are considering implementing body cameras for officers.

Tullytown Borough Chief of Police Daniel Doyle said in-car cameras have help decrease complaints about officers.

After his department was accused of using a Taser on and assaulting a teen following a shoplifting arrest last year, Doyle purchased cameras that attach to all Tasers used by his officers. The Taser-mounted cameras begin recording video every time a Taser is switched on.

In the end, police car dash camera video proved instrumental in providing proof the teen was injured after he ran from police and not during an assault.

In Bristol Township, Acting Chief Bristol Township Chief Lt. John Godzieba said he is looking at several different body camera options for his department. Currently, the department of roughly 60 officers does not have dash-mounted cameras in patrol cars.

“I have looked at body cameras and am quite impressed with the level of technology,” Middletown Chief Joseph Bartorilla said. “I would say body cameras are likely in MTPD’s future but not immediate future.

While body cameras are not on the near horizon in Middletown, Bartorilla said he is seeking funding for patrol car cameras.

Departments in our region that are using or testing body cameras report good results.

At SEPTA, Nestel said the handful of cameras rolled out in a test run have performed well and helped solve crimes and citizens complaints.

“We had a guilty plea in a case strictly because we had audio and video of the contact with individual,” the chief said. He added the cameras have also cleared one officer who had several citizens complaints against him.

Nestel wasn’t alone.

Sgt. William Golder, who is acting chief of Yardley Borough’s police department, said his department has used body cameras for the past three months and have been delighted with the results. Since the time the cameras have been worn by Yardley’s 11 officers, the systems have worked and officers have regularly used the to record their interactions with the public.

There are limitations due to current state law.

Officials noted that Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act is one of the most stringent in the nation. While a recent change to the law allows police recording of people in public, the law still requires consent from residents when recording in a private home.

Doyle said he hopes elected officials work to make the law less restrictive.

SEPTA’s top cop, whose 275 officers mainly patrol public spaces, said he thinks changes to the current wiretapping and electronic surveillance law should be evaluated. He said officers should be able to record in any residence they are lawfully permitted to be in. He noted making that alteration would make it easier for his officers serving warrants and suburban police who are handling calls where they are summoned to a residence.

Recently, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has released several statements in support of police body cameras.

Heckler said his office was willing to work with police departments looking to amend their guidelines and policy as they add body cameras.

Penndel Borough Chief Joseph Sciscio said he would wait until legal issues are ironed out before looking to purchase body cameras for his part-time officers. He did explain that the borough recently installed dash cameras in its patrol units.

Aside from SEPTA’s regional jurisdiction and Yardley, police have reported success with body camera programs.

A 2012 study by police in Rialto, California showed public complaints against officers dropped 88 percent in 2012 after body cameras were put on patrol. The study also found that officers’ use of force plunged by 60 percent following the implementation of the cameras.

Many officials said the body camera systems were cheaper than in-car systems more commonly used. Prices quotes by manufacturers began around $500 and grew in price based on the model and features.

In Yardley, Golder said the borough and police union both chipped in to equip the officers with body cameras.

Nestel said one cost is the price of secure digital storage for the footage that is uploaded by officers. To offset the overall program costs, Nestel hopes to receive grant money.

Doyle said he will continue to research use of body cameras for Tullytown police.

“It’s not a matter of if but when I submit my request to borough council.”

[poll id=”4″]

---

Get Our Daily Newsletter

Our daily newsletter features the top stories of the day sent to your inbox every evening.