Body Camera Rollout Begins For Stafford County Deputies

STAFFORD COUNTY, VA — Body cameras are coming to Stafford County this week, the sheriff's office announced on Monday. This week marks the beginning of a wide rollout after a testing and evaluation period, according to authorities.

The Stafford County Sheriff's Office said it began testing body-worn cameras for deputies several years ago. After police officials decided to pursue Axon brand body cameras, the Stafford County Board of Supervisors provided funding last year.

The sheriff's office has used dashboard-mounted cameras in police vehicles for more than 20 years. In November, the agency switched to Axon-brand dashboard cameras to coincide with the new body cameras.

"The new systems allow video evidence to integrate with our computer aided dispatch (CAD) and be easily recalled for investigations," the Stafford County Sheriff's Office said on Monday.

Though the body camera rollout began this week, officials noted that it would take several months to equip all deputies with cameras.

A 2022 meta-analysis from the National Institute of Justice aggregated the results of 26 studies about the effects of body cameras on police behavior. The analysis found that body cameras did not have a significant impact on the conduct of police officers, the number of arrests, or the number of assaults on police officers.

In 2016, Stafford County Sheriff David Decatur told InsideNoVa that he hoped body cameras would prevent "misbehavior on both sides of the lens."

"The benefit of having video footage for prosecution, training, internal investigations and complaints is significant," Decatur said. "The benefits exceed the drawbacks associated with the cost and time to manage the program."