Chicago Police To Test Out Body Cameras
By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 1, 2014 8:25PM
Washington DC Metropolitan Police Officer Debra Domino wears one of the new 'body-worn cameras' that the city's officers will begin using during a press conference announcing the details of the program September 24, 2014 in Washington, DC. (Photo credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy announced Monday the Chicago Police Department would begin a pilot program in the next 60 days where cops test out wearing body cameras.
McCarthy made the announcement during a Monday briefing on major crime statistics in November. There has been a growing call nationally for police to be outfitted with body cameras in the wake of the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
McCarthy said details of the program haven’t been finalized but that there are officers who have volunteered to test the cameras, which are the size of a pager and worn at either chest or shoulder level. One problem McCarthy acknowledged needed solving was how to store the information gathered by the cameras.
“Once you finish your tour, now you have to put that somewhere and if you picture doing it on a large scale in a city like Chicago, it’s going to be a big issue moving forward. That’s why we have to get it right from the beginning,” he said.
Because of the cost, body cameras have been mainly used by smaller police departments across the country. Police departments in New York City, Washington DC and Los Angeles have announced body camera programs this year and President Barack Obama has promised $75 million in matching funds over the next three years to law enforcement agencies across the country to outfit their officers with as many as 50,000 cameras.
McCarthy first announced CPD was looking into the program in September and it’s been endorsed by groups ranging from the American Civil Liberties Union and NAACP to police unions and even the Independent Police Review Authority, who all believe the cameras could reduce the number of civilian complaints against police officers and prevent some suspects from filing frivolous lawsuits.