By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph Police Department proposed over $1.8 million worth of projects in the latest round of Capital Improvement Project funding, which was approved by voters last August.
Of that $1.8 million, $950,000 was set aside to go toward body and dashboard cameras for all St. Joseph police offers.
St. Joseph Police Chief Paul Luster says the whole department went through extensive testing before the cameras are used in the field.
"We ultimately tested 4-5 different body-worn cameras," Luster said on KFEQ Radio's The Hotline. "We put those out in the field. So, it wasn't just inside testing. We deployed them out to the field. We had officers give input on things they liked and didn't like."
The CIP funding approved last August will be implemented this July. Current state law in Missouri allows law enforcement agencies to require body cameras for all officers.
Luster says the tech and storage that goes into running body cameras and storing footage behind the scenes is extensive.
"What it takes to support officers out there with a high definition video camera on their chest, recording basically a lot of their interactions with the public," he said, "whether that be a call for service, traffic stop, arrest. They're recording that and that produces a heck of a lot of video."
"You have to look at storage needs and how you manage that."
What's more, Luster says having body cameras on all officers across the city creates a sense of transparency and trust throughout the community.
In his experience, Luster says body cameras is something that both officers and citizens are overwhelmingly in favor of.
"This is another thing that, when (officers) are out there, that really enhances the trust in the community that everything is out there in the open," Luster pointed out. "It's transparent, everything we're doing and officers are recording that."
"I get asked, 'Do the officers want that?' And, overwhelmingly, they do."
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