All Temecula-Area Sheriff's Patrol Deputies to Be Outfitted with Body Cameras

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA - The Board of Supervisors Tuesday authorized Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff to move ahead with plans to outfit all patrol deputies with body-worn cameras in the interest of improving "employee and citizen accountability."

In a 4-0 vote -- with Supervisor John Benoit absent -- the board accepted a $577,900 U.S. Department of Justice-Bureau of Justice Assistance grant earmarked to fund the sheriff's efforts to equip all field personnel with wearable video cameras over the next two years.

The grant requires a 50 percent county match, which Sniff said has already been budgeted in the current fiscal year.

"The project will expand our existing body-worn camera program, improve employee and citizen accountability and strengthen community relationships by using video to improve transparency in law enforcement encounters with the public," according to a sheriff's statement posted to the board's policy agenda.

An additional 1,000 patrol deputies will be provided cameras thanks to the grant award, sheriff's officials said.

In March 2015, Sniff initiated a pilot program to test the effectiveness of the cameras, deploying the shirt-mounted devices with deputies in Jurupa Valley. He inaugurated a formal policy on the use of body cams at the beginning of this year.

The Riverside Sheriffs' Association initially challenged the field testing because there was no provision in deputies' collective bargaining agreement with the county that specified how the cameras would be utilized and whether RSA members would have the option of not wearing them.

The union later dropped its challenge after negotiators and sheriff's executive staff reached a compromise on the conditions of department-wide use.

"Due to lack of audio or video record of the majority of police and citizen encounters, the department spends a significant amount of time annually investigating citizen complaints against officers," the agency said. "In order to save personnel time and increase accountability of both officers and citizens, the department needs to equip every uniformed patrol officer with a body-worn camera and establish policies as needed."

The sheriff's department acquired 165 body cams from Seattle-based Vie Vu in November 2014 at a cost of $184,000. It's unclear whether the sheriff will continue to use that vendor for the new purchases.

— By City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone