JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore announced that the Board of Public Works and Safety has approved a contract for the city to implement a body-worn camera program for its police department.
According to a press release, the city will purchase 75 cameras from the company, Axon 3 Technology, to be assigned to each uniformed patrol officer from the rank of sergeant through patrolman.
The contract was approved at a Wedneday morning meeting and is contingent upon the city council funding the program.
"Our police department is already leading by example with 21st century policing practices. We're taking that even further with state of the art body-worn cameras," said Moore "This program will be part of the daily routine for our department as a way to boost accountability among our officers when interacting with the public."
The cameras are always running in the background and the technology will capture the previous 30 seconds of video before the officer hits the activation button.
The camera will also turn on automatically when weapons are unholstered as well as activation of other officers' cameras within a certain range.
"When our officers are called upon, the cameras will go on," said Police Chief Kenny Kavanaugh who noted that the department has been conducting a 10 camera pilot program to help guide the implementation of body-worn cameras. "They will be required to have their cameras on as part of our internal policy."
The department will have policies in place for any officer who misuses or fails to adhere to any of the body-worn camera operating procedures.
"I want to use this cutting edge technology to ensure that our department remains transparent to the citizens it serves and protects," said Moore.
The program will cost $522,000 to be paid over five years with new cameras added twice over that period.
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