LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's one of the biggest police agencies in the Commonwealth, but for too long Kentucky State Police did not have body cameras.
"Why did it take so long?" Col. Phillip Burnett, Jr. said. "It's truly the expense."
The cameras themselves are an expense, while video storage is expensive.
However, with Kentucky allocating $12.2 million for the agency, KSP troopers are not only getting raises, they are also getting new body cameras and cruiser cameras.
KSP says after researching the different products available, they went with a Motorola version integrating all the cameras which record at the same time.
KSP says they'll have about 780 body cameras, of which 555 are integrated and are on order.
Cruiser cameras will include a dual lens forward-facing camera mounted on the windshield with another camera on the dashboard focused on the back seat area for prisoner transport.
The cameras can be turned on manually or they automatically come on when lights and sirens go on.
KSP believes recorded video will enhance public trust in what they do and will leave almost no doubt about the actions troopers take.
"These video recordings will show that in the overwhelming, overwhelming majority of cases, our troopers acted appropriately," Sec. Kerry Harvey of the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet said.
Burnett points out that KSP would have gotten the technology a lot sooner, but the agency had to take care of other upgrades first.
"We had cars that had in excess of 200,000 miles that troopers were operating, we had long guns that we have to use from time-to-time in our duties that were Vietnam era, so we had to prioritize," he said. "Just unacceptable that a trooper in the 21st century should have equipment like that."
KSP expects to have the cameras on troopers and in their cruisers rolled out by the end of the year or sooner.
"The public will be able to see the work that we're doing everyday and be able to support us in what we do," Trooper 1st Class Jack Gabriel said.
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