Miami, Detroit and San Francisco are among the cities where police officers are wearing cameras, and New York started its pilot program late last year. Plans to further implement body-worn camera programs are growing thanks to proposed federal support of $75 million earlier this year, and Boston cops might be next in line.
According to the Boston Globe, the proposal will get a hearing in city council tonight, and will be considered by Mayor Marty Walsh and Police Commissioner William B. Evans.
Stories of police brutality in the news have given rise to the use and support of body cameras on police, though the tool is still controversial as it brings up issues over constitutionality, privacy and budget.
“Cameras are only a small part of the solution,” Evans told the Globe. “Working hard to build strong relationships and building their trust and respect, that’s what it’s going to take to address what’s going on around the country — not a gadget on someone’s lapel.”
If approved, Boston’s initiative would call for all uniformed and non-uniformed on-duty officers (excluding undercover) to wear body cameras on their lapels to record all public interactions. Officers would be responsible for turning the camera on as they go about their responsibilities. The proposal may need union approval and doesn’t specify where the videos might be stored or how much it might cost to implement. Evans said storing the footage could cost the city up to $3 million a year.
ACLU Massachusetts recently released a report about racial discrimination and stop-and-frisk policing between 2007 and 2010, revealing that Boston police had disproportionately interrogated black residents. Matthew Segal, legal director of ACLU Massachusetts, told the Globe, “The evidence is that using body cameras protect the public, and officer complaints go down, and use of force goes down.”
Marielle Mondon is an editor and freelance journalist in Philadelphia. Her work has appeared in Philadelphia City Paper, Wild Magazine, and PolicyMic. She previously reported on communities in Northern Manhattan while earning an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University.
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