Dona Ana County Deputies Will Soon All Wear Body Cameras
By the end of the week, all Dona Ana County Sheriff's Deputies will have, and be required to wear, body cameras at all times while on duty.
In an effort to provide more transparency to the public regarding the actions of their deputies, Dona Ana County is spending over half a million dollars on cameras for each deputy. According to KVIA, that money covers the cost of 180 cameras with an extra $100,000 a year being needed to cover the cost of employing technicians to maintain and store the footage.
I've heard many people express concerns over officers not turning on their cameras in certain situations. That issue seems to have been settled by this quote from Captain Jon Day on how the cameras are operated:
The cameras are automatically activated by certain triggers, including a deputy turning on his or her lights, speeding or getting into a crash, Capt. Day said. If a deputy is around others, one body camera camera will activate other deputies' cameras.
"It limits the officer forgetting to turn on the camera, because the cameras automatically turn on by themselves," - KVIA
Some people, including many law enforcement officers themselves, have been resistant to the use of cameras. I agree with their use, primarily because the cameras are no threat to officers who aren't doing anything wrong in the performance of their duties and they can immediately refute any false accusations against them.
What do you think about mandating the use of cameras by law enforcement officers in general??