The Utah Department of Public Safety plans to equip all of its officers with body cameras.
Commissioner Keith Squires announced the plans Thursday, and that he has authorized the purchase of 50 cameras, on top of the 20 the department already owns. He's unsure of how long it will take to equip all of his 560 sworn officers, but "we have made that commitment," he said.
It would cost the department almost a half million dollars a year to store the footage, with every officer using the cameras, so it will take time to find that funding, Squires said.
"Because of that, we're also working with state Department of Technology Services to identify a more cost-effective way to preserve and store that digital [evidence]," Squires said. "… [Half a million dollars] is a huge expense."
His first priority is to equip all of the Utah Highway Patrol troopers, since they have the most daily interaction with the public. After that, Squires plans to move on to the other officers that are part of his department, including the Bureau of Investigation and the state fire marshal office.
DPS began testing body cameras in March 2013, when they gave 15 of them to officers who patrol Salt Lake Community College, and later bought several more for the troopers who patrol the Utah State Capitol. The initial purchases included cameras that mount to an officer's glasses or sunglasses, but the department is shifting toward the models that are worn on the torso, Squires said.
The announcement comes amid heated public debate about officers' use of force in light of the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. and Eric Garner in New York, as well as the Utah officer-involved shooting deaths of Darrien Hunt, Dillon Taylor and Danielle Willard.
A UtahPolicy poll in late August showed that more than 80 percent of Utahns want police officers to wear cameras.
More and more departments are moving in that direction.
West Valley City Police Chief Lee Russo told his City Council earlier this year that he was initiating steps to acquire cameras by early 2015.
The Park City, American Fork and Perry police departments already have done so. Salt Lake City and the multijurisdictional Unified Police Department are in various stages of implementing body cam policies. Salt Lake City currently has 295 cameras, according to the department's website.
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Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Police motor squad officer Brent Larsen (left)demonstrates how the magnet-attached Axon Flex camera on his collar streams live video to his cell phone. Salt Lake City Police Department unveiled the new on-officer camera system, Wednesday, November 14, 2012 known as "body cam" built by the Taser company that allows audio-visual recording of an incident from the officer's perspective and reduces report documentation workload and accuracy. The Salt Lake City Police department hopes to purchase 200 Body Cams in the future.
Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Police detective Bill Silver wears the magnet-attached Axon Flex camera on a pair of Oakley safety glasses that can also be attached to an officers helmet, shirt collar and uniform epaulette. Salt Lake City Police Department unveiled a new on-officer camera system, Wednesday, November 14, 2012 known as "body cam" built by the Taser company that allows audio-visual recording of an incident from the officer's perspective and reduces report documentation workload and accuracy. The Salt Lake City Police department hopes to purchase 200 Body Cams in the future.
