Cape may accept funding for police body cameras, would go online next year

The Cape Girardeau City Council is set to accept a federal grant that could have the city’s police officers wearing body cameras by early next year, police chief Wes Blair said.

The council will vote today on a resolution to accept a $27,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Blair said the grant is contingent upon a match of $54,000 from the city.

The matching funds were included in the fiscal 2018 budget approved by the council earlier this year, city officials said.

The police chief said city officials were “pleasantly surprised” to receive the grant.

Mayor Harry Rediger welcomed the federal funding.

“I am pleased we are moving forward in a positive direction,” he said of the plan to deploy body-worn cameras.

Blair said the grant will allow the city to move ahead “a lot faster” in implementing a body-camera system.

The cameras will be provided to the 55 commissioned and noncommissioned officers whose “day-to-day duties are carried out in the public arena,” Blair said in an agenda report to the council.

The department has a total of 80 officers, but not all of them need to wear the cameras, Blair said.

Detectives, for example, won’t wear the cameras, Blair said. Typically, the department’s detectives conduct interviews in rooms at the station. Those interviews already are recorded, he said.

Blair said the department has been testing several camera systems to determine what system will work best for police here.

Software and video storage are key parts of any body-worn camera system, Blair said.

The police chief said his department has been working on developing rules and regulations regarding the use of such cameras.

Blair said officers will be trained on the use of the cameras and will be monitored monthly for compliance.

There are several benefits to deploying cameras, he said.

“One is the collection of evidence,” Blair said.

“It also is an accountability piece for us,” he said.

Blair said the cameras will reveal whether officers acted properly or improperly during an incident.

“Our big focus is on our relationship with the community,” he said.

In the agenda report, Blair wrote, “The goals for this program are simple: To solidify the bonds of trust our department currently carries with the public and to create a greater sense of accountability for all.”

Blair said a camera system “will also help create a more efficient and properly trained department.” The stored videos will become “indispensable training tools for our officers,” he wrote.

Police officers often are “a citizen’s first point of contact when they need assistance from the government,” Blair said.

As a result, Blair said “it is imperative that the relationship between law enforcement and the community they serve be as strong as possible.”

mbliss@semissourian.com

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401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

40 S. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.