Hillsboro Police To Begin Testing Body-Worn Cameras

HILLSBORO, OR — Hillsboro officers will soon begin testing body-worn cameras as part of the department's continued effort to improve policing in the city, officials said.

The Hillsboro Police Department on Monday posted to its social media accounts a video promoting the department's body-worn camera pilot program, and police officials have invited the public to provide feedback via an online community survey. Narrated by HPD Officer Ryan Black, the video gives a quick breakdown of the body-worn camera program and why Hillsboro police are implementing the use of this sometimes controversial tool.

"Community involvement is essential in developing our body-worn camera policy and the on-going evaluation of the program," Black said. "The body-worn camera program will document the community-minded work our officers do every day, and will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the judicial process through video and audio documentation of the actions of officers, citizens, witnesses, and offenders."

The program has been discussed here and there in Hillsboro over the past several years but was only recently made a reality thanks in part to a $217,500 Department of Justice (DOJ) grant, HPD spokesman Lt. Henry Reimann told Patch on Monday. Officers are expected to begin wearing the cameras this summer in a testing capacity, with a full rollout planned for February 2018.

"It's a huge undertaking," Reimann said of getting the program off the ground. "It's never been a question of doing it, just a matter of how."

Getting the grant from the DOJ was a huge first step, HPD Chief Lee Dobrowolski told Patch.

Awarded with the understanding that the grant would be matched dollar for dollar by the receiving department, Dobrowolski said the DOJ also looked for grant applicants that were working in partnership with other law enforcement agencies. The HPD, Dobrowolski explained, is working in partnership with the North Plains and Sherwood police departments, which all will share 150 cameras to start.

Although each agency will pay its own portion of the matching grant based on the number of cameras used, Dobrowolski said, the City of Hillsboro proactively budgeted for the whole $217,000 with the intention of using whatever was left to help fund the program once it is officially implemented.

To begin, HPD officers will incorporate around eight to 10 cameras with the longterm goal being more than 100 used throughout the department, Dobrowolski said. From School Resource Officers and traffic cops to facility staff and administrative personnel, "We want everybody in the field to have cameras," he said. "We want to be accountable to the public."

"It increases the level of transparency and documents what officers do," he continued. "When we look around the country, I believe body-worn cameras are becoming a public expectation … so we're doing it prior to anyone else telling us to."

From its inherent value as an evidence recorder to its purpose as a training tool, body-worn cameras are steadily becoming a standard piece of equipment for law enforcement. Departments across Washington County and the metro region are in various stages of body-worn camera policy development, which at least in Hillsboro is being done with the public's assistance.

Two community forums in May gave residents an opportunity to provide input for city and HPD officials to work with while they continue to develop body-worn camera policies, and most of that community input, Reimann said, has been positive. Even HPD officers are in favor of the program, he said. But to develop the best policies possible, community input is vital, Dobrowolski added.

Building on the feedback officials have already received, the online survey is 11 questions covering general opinions of the program. However, it also asks "Would you feel comfortable knowing your interactions with Hillsboro police officers were being recorded?" and "If you were recorded by an officer, how would you feel if the public was able to see those images?"

Reimann said those questions came up the most during the community forums as well.

"It's an atypical question, right?" Reimann said. "People are all for (body-worn cameras) until we ask, what if you're captured in the video? Then they say it would depend on what for."

Dobrowolski said casual interactions with officers won't likely be recorded, and that there will never be a situation where an officer's entire shift is saved. But then he mentioned situations involving child survivors of domestic violence, or even adult survivors of sexual assault — should those interactions be recorded?

"We're looking at best practices nationwide and also conferring with the District Attorney," he said, noting that when the cameras are turned on, how long the recordings are saved, where the saved recordings are stored, and under what circumstances specific recordings are used as evidence are all elements still under consideration.

To have your say, take the survey today. It will remain available throughout the summer.

Click here to take the Hillsboro Police Department body-worn camera program community survey.

Image: Screenshot from Hillsboro Police Department YouTube channel, CityofHillsboroOR