Cape police department plans to use body cameras

The Cape Girardeau Police Department will adopt body-camera technology for officers after completing an ongoing testing period, a police spokesman said.

"We've been testing and evaluating body cams for quite a while," public-information officer Sgt. Rick Schmidt said in a phone interview Friday. "We wanted to make sure and the chief wanted to make sure we bought the ones that provided the best footage and the best features."

He said the department wants to avoid "jump[ing] into this decision half-hearted."

"We wanted to make sure we have the best body cameras we can buy," he said.

The Cape Girardeau city budget for the current fiscal year includes a $54,000 allocation for the police division to purchase the cameras. That allocation is funded through the city's casino revenue fund.

Schmidt said the police department has not set an implementation date, but the city's fiscal year ends June 30, 2018.

"I'm not an expert on the pricing of body cams, but I also know the folks who ask for money know they're fairly certain that ($54,000) would be enough funding for full implementation,"

As to what full implementation would entail, Schmidt said it will at least mean body cameras for the dozen or so officers working the streets on a given day, including patrols, traffic details and possibly nuisance abatement.

"There will be a policy drafted by the policy team that we have here in the police department," Schmidt said.

That policy will go before chief Wes Blair for approval or alteration, and Schmidt said the policy will address how materials captured by the cameras are handled under public-records laws.

"Who can get information from the body cams, when you can get them, if there's a cost to be associated with that, that will all be covered in the policy," Schmidt said.

While there is still about a year to find cameras that satisfy the department's needs, Schmidt said the goal is in sight.

"We are nearing the ending of our testing and evaluation phase of it," Schmidt said.

And once officers are equipped, Schmidt said they and the public will benefit from having the cameras.

"It's the same thing here that applies nationwide," he said. "[Body cameras provide] photographic, audio, video evidence as to what the officer saw which could either prove or disprove whatever the case may be."

He said body cameras can be useful in determining the truth in a variety of case types, including employee misconduct, car chases or instances of assault on an officer.

"[They're] to protect us and help us at the same time," he said.

Cape Girardeau police's implementation will follow that of the Jackson Police Department, which has used body cameras for several years.

"They work well," Jackson police Lt. Tony Henson said. "We haven't had any issues with it."

But not all local agencies have implemented the cameras.

Cape Girardeau County Capt. David James said his agency does not use body camera only because of lack of funding. He said the agency has explored the idea in recent years and tested some technology, but at this point, it's not feasible.

"We would like to have them, but they're expensive," he said. "And the upkeep and the maintenance and the storage of the videos is expensive. Someday we'll find the funding, I guess."

tgraef@semissourian.com

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