SCSO receives grant to purchase body-worn cameras

The Stephens County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded a grant to purchase body-worn cameras for its deputies.

According to Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley, his office was awarded nearly $24,000 to supplement its body camera program.

The grant is a 50/50 matching grant funded by the Small Rural Tribal section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Shirley said once the funds are made available the department will replace its current body cameras and deputies in every division with public contact will be provided a body camera.

Currently, the uniform patrol division is the only division utilizing body cameras.

Shirley says the Sheriff’s Office has used body cameras since 2013.

Body-worn cameras improve police accountability and lower reports of police misconduct.

The cameras provide visual and audio evidence that can independently verify events.

Shirley said that the cameras help in documenting what occurs during an encounter and holds deputies accountable.

Moreover, body-worn cameras have the potential to improve community relations, lower the number of citizen complaints, defend officers against false accusations, increase agency accountability, and improve officer training and evaluation.

These new cameras will have the ability to link and activate other nearby deputies’ body cameras so that there is no loss of information, making sure each deputy’s perspective of events are recorded.

When choosing which company to use, the Sheriff’s Office focused on the equipment’s system to store and share footage.

The model tested by the sheriff’s office is the ProVision BodyCam 4.

The sheriff’s office has already formed an agreement with ProVision to purchase the equipment.

Shirley says all they are waiting on is receiving the grant funds.