Oswego Police Officers Will Start Wearing Body Cams Monday

OSWEGO, IL — Starting Monday, Oswego police officers will be equipped with an additional tool: body-worn cameras.

On-duty, uniformed officers will be required to turn on the cameras — Motorola V300 Body Cameras — whenever they respond to calls for service or are engaged in "any law-enforcement related encounter or activity," in accordance with state law. The equipment has a built-in microphone to capture sound as well as internal data storage to save the footage for review.

Oswego's implementation comes more than two years before the state's Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act requires all officers to wear body cameras by 2025. Officials said obtaining the cameras has been the department's goal "for some time."

"The implementation of body worn cameras is an example of the police department’s commitment to being transparent with our community," Deputy Chief Jason Bastin said in a statement. "It also provides us an opportunity to capture the quality service that our officers provide daily to the residents and businesses of the Village of Oswego."

Besides furthering transparency, the cameras are also meant to help with criminal investigations and prosecutions, lead to officer skill enhancement, and protect officers and the village from unjustified complaints or false accusations of misconduct, officials said.

Officers have been trained to use the cameras, worn on their chests, and on the statutory requirements of use, which includes respecting reasonable privacy expectations, officials said.

The Yorkville Police Department, neighboring Oswego in Kendall County, has also recently implemented body cameras, Patch reported.

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