Chicago Rolls Out Police Body Camera Pilot Program

Caption: A police officer wears a TASER International “point of view” camera attached to his glasses. The company is providing 30 camera systems, including body worn cameras, in a Chicago Police Department pilot program. | blog.Taser.com

In a measure designed to reduce citizen complaints of police misconduct and lawsuits, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy announced that the city would be rolling out a pilot police body camera program beginning this week.

Officers on the overnight shift in Dist. 14, which encompasses Logan Square, Bucktown and Wicker Park, and parts of Avondale and Humboldt Park, will begin wearing two types of body cameras.

“As a police officer for more than 35 years, I’m excited about this new program because it will ensure more transparency from CPD and a new view of the work performed by our officers,” McCarthy said in a written statement. “While they are not the be-all-end-all, I believe body cameras will strengthen police and community relations.”

About 30 cameras will be tested during the initial program. Dist. 14 officers are to be equipped with body worn cameras (BWC) and point-of-view cameras (POV). The BWCs attach to an officer’s outer clothing, while POVs are clipped to the officer’s glasses, goggles or head gear.

The systems will be activated to record all routine calls of service, investigatory stops, traffic stops, traffic stops, foot and vehicle pursuits, emergency driving situations and other high-risk situations, police said.

In addition, the systems will record sound and video as events unfold. Officers will inform any individuals they come into contact with that they are being recorded.

Emanuel said the technology will be used as “a tool to continue to build the trust between officers and residents.”

The equipment for the program is being provided by TASER International Inc. at no cost to the Chicago Police Department. The same cameras are being tested in New York and Los Angeles, and other major cities throughout the United States.

The Chicago pilot program is expected to last between 45 to 60 days. Chicago Police will then evaluate the program’s effectiveness and determine the next steps at the end of the pilot.

Use of the cameras in other cities has been said to reduce police officers’ use of force by 60 percent, as well as contributed to an 80 percent reduction in complaints filed by community residents, said Crain’s Chicago Business quoting the mayor’s aides.

As for how Chicago’s rank and file officers feel, a post on the police blog Second City Cop suggested that “vigorous prosecution of perjurers would stop false [citizen] complaints, but no one seems to have the balls to do that.”

Second City Cop went on to suggest that “after the hubbub has died down, the cameras will break-down and the city won’t spend a dime on maintenance or repair - exactly like the in-car cameras.”