Syracuse Police Department Announces Acquisition Of Additional Body-Worn Cameras For Officers In The Uniform Bureau Patrol Section

Press release from the City of Syracuse:

September 18 2020

On June 19, 2020, Mayor Ben Walsh issued the Syracuse Police Reform Executive Order No. 1 Action #4. This action called for the Syracuse Police Department (SPD) to complete its the work of obtaining more body-worn cameras, resulting in all uniformed officers who are on patrol or respond to resident calls being equipped with a body-worn camera.

On Monday, July 13, 2020 the Syracuse Common Council approved revised legislation to ensure compliance with a grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice for the procurement of body-worn cameras for use by SPD officers.

The City of Syracuse then agreed to the following timeline:

1. Purchase and acquire 113 cameras by Aug. 28, 2020.
2. Construct a physical, secured equipment docking space for the cameras by Sept. 18, 2020.
3. Coordinate body-worn equipment technology software registration with AXON Company and integration with Onondaga County 911 by Sept. 18, 2020.
4. Train officers on the use of individually assigned (i.e. not shared) body-worn cameras, having each officer assigned a body-worn camera by Oct. 25, 2020.

Purchase & Acquisition of 113 Cameras – COMPLETE

SPD’s goal of outfitting every officer assigned to the patrol unit, responding to citizen calls means that SPD will deploy a total of 220 body-worn cameras. To fulfill that goal, SPD ordered (Invoice 1, 2 and 3) and received 113 additional body-worn cameras to its previous inventory of 107 cameras.

Construction of Equipment Docking Space – COMPLETE

The City of Syracuse Skilled Trades staff installed secure docking stations in the Public Safety Building where the 220 body-worn cameras will be stored at the end of each officer’s shift.

Coordination of Body-Worn Camera Technology – COMPLETE

SPD contracted AXON, a public safety technology company that develops applications and defense products for law enforcement, to integrate the body-worn cameras with data from 911 calls using Computer Aided Dispatch. The technology will allow SPD to be able to efficiently search and locate specific time-stamped body-worn camera footage instead of having to search through long sections of footage. Reasons for viewing the footage can then serve a number of purposes including training, discipline, criminal investigation, etc.

Training & Deployment of BWCs – Due Date Oct. 25, 2020

By Oct. 25, 2020 SPD will have deployed all 220 body-worn cameras to all patrol officers who respond to citizen emergency calls.

Letter of action #4 completion from spd

This press release was produced by the City of Syracuse. The views expressed here are the author’s own.