Police body cameras are about to roll out in Berks County.
Sinking Spring officers are already training with the high-tech devices and expect to deploy them in roughly two weeks.
"I think there's going to be more transparency with the operations of a department," said Chief Lee Schweyer. "Now, you're gonna see and hear what we actually are doing out there."
In response to recent police-involved controversies, Schweyer budgeted for three cameras this year.
"I didn't want... that kind of problem developing here, so I did a lot of research," Schweyer said.
Schweyer said his officers will soon wear the cameras at all times while on-duty, having the option of fastening them around a collar, onto a hat or onto a shoulder lapel.
The cameras will always be powered-on, or in a "buffering mode," but they will only record once activated to do so by an officer. The cameras will record from that point, and "30 seconds in the past," he said.
Circumstances that would require an officer to record include "any type of traffic stop, any type of interaction with the public, out in the public, any type of field sobriety testing," Schweyer said.
Under state law, however, police are not able to record while inside a residence.
"Other states are allowed, but right now, we can't," he said.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams, a proponent of the body cameras, said he hopes to see that change.
"We all know that [inside a residence] may be the place where confrontation takes place, so I think that, at some point, we may need to amend that law as the use of the cameras becomes more expansive," Adams said.
Adams told 69 News that the cameras will not only assist in prosecuting criminals, but in preventing crime.
"It will be an aid in the behavior of the individuals who are involved in the police interaction," Adams said. "It will bring about good behavior by the police officer, and we think it will encourage good behavior by an individual that has either been stopped by the police or is engaged in some sort of illicit behavior that the police are addressing."
Schweyer told 69 News that his officers must notify people if and when they are being recorded, although, according to Adams, that isn't necessarily required of the police while in a public place.
"Of course, we would want to notify the individual that they're being recorded," Adams said, "but that might not always be possible."
Adams said he hopes more local police departments purchase body cameras, although he recognizes the expense is a huge setback for many.
To his knowledge, Sinking Spring is the first department in Berks County that is soon planning to debut the devices.
from 69News:Home http://ift.tt/1ALVjMj
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