Howard County’s Body-Worn Camera Program Takes Step Forward

3 years ago 329

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ) — Howard County is 1 measurement person to equipping its constabulary section with body-worn cameras.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced Monday helium has signed a fund amendment releasing astir $500,000 needed to wage for the program, which was greenlit Oct. 4 by the County Council.

The astir $500,000, combined with $1 cardinal antecedently acceptable speech by the region and $1.6 cardinal successful American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds, volition wage for the county’s adoption of the estimated $3.1 cardinal program.

“I americium pleased that the County Council unanimously approved my fund amendment to merchandise these overmuch needed nationalist information funds retired of contingency,” Ball said. “The usage of County and American Rescue Plan funds volition guarantee that the body-worn camera programme tin beryllium afloat implemented earlier the extremity of the 2022 fiscal year. When this programme is afloat implemented, Howard County’s officers and our assemblage volition person different captious instrumentality that helps uphold security, transparency, and justness for all.”

Under the Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021, the Howard County Police Department is one of 4 instrumentality enforcement agencies successful the authorities that indispensable person assemblage cameras successful place by July 1, 2023.

The $3.1 cardinal volition beryllium utilized to prosecute 26 positions wrong the constabulary department, Howard County Sheriff’s Department and the State’s Attorney’s Office and to bargain 600 body-worn cameras for the constabulary department’s 300 officers. In addition, the backing volition screen the costs of purchasing caller retention capableness and bundle required for the body-worn camera program, arsenic good arsenic instrumentality for sheriff’s deputies.

Some of that backing is expected to code findings identified during Howard County’s year-long aviator program, which recovered that a deficiency of funding, retention abstraction and unit were the main barriers keeping the region from adopting body-worn cameras.

Howard County Police Chief Lisa Meyers said body-worn cameras volition adhd a furniture of transparency and accountability for officers and citizens during their interactions.

“This programme is the culmination of years of probe and readying by galore of our HCPD sworn and civilian staff,” Chief Meyers said. “We are acceptable to deed the crushed running, ordering and installing equipment, grooming officers, hiring administrative unit and tackling galore different tasks to hole for implementation successful the months ahead.”

Added Sheriff Marcus Harris: “Providing transparency and gathering spot with our assemblage are 2 of my main objectives arsenic a instrumentality enforcement leader. Body Worn Cameras are a instrumentality successful gathering those objectives. The Sheriff’s Office is acceptable to get the shot rolling by hiring caller personnel, purchasing the required instrumentality and providing the indispensable grooming for our deputies.”

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The region expects to acquisition its body-worn cameras from Axon, the aforesaid vendor utilized during its aviator program.