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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div> Belleville City Council has agreed to spend $820,000 to equip all 68 of its police officers with body cameras and to update dashboard cameras in all 35 of its patrol cars.<\/p>\n tmaddox@bnd.com<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n <\/p>\n The Belleville Police Department is getting body cameras.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aldermen voted at Tuesday night\u2019s City Council meeting to spend $820,000 to equip all 68 of its officers with body cams and buy a few extra for those it plans to hire; replace dashboard cameras on all 35 of its patrol cars; and install two cameras in each of its five interview rooms at the police station.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The vote was a gratifying end to Police Chief Matt Eiskant\u2019s first day on the job.<\/a> The former assistant chief had replaced Bill Clay, who resigned the position to become the city\u2019s human resources director.<\/p>\n Eiskant sees body cams and dash cams as important tools in law enforcement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the captured truth,\u201d he said. \u201cAnytime we go to a scene, it\u2019s going to be recorded. It\u2019s for the protection and safety of the officers and the citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s also the law.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Illinois enacted legislation last year to overhaul the state\u2019s criminal-justice system, including provisions requiring all uniformed police officers to begin wearing body cameras<\/a> by Jan. 1, 2025.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That prompted police departments throughout the state to begin doing research on systems, products, features and costs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been looking into this for about a year and a half, reaching out to different vendors and talking to agencies that have (body cams) and agencies that are in the process of getting them,\u201d said Belleville Capt. Todd Keilbach.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The city decided to do business with Utility Associates, a Georgia-based company that provided its BodyWorn brand cameras<\/a> to about 700 officers with St. Louis County Police Department in 2019. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The cellphone-size cameras are \u201cembedded\u201d into uniforms to keep them from detaching, according to the company\u2019s website. Systems can detect when officers activate patrol-car lights, draw guns or pursue subjects on foot.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Belleville will pay for the equipment in installments over six years under its agreement with Utility. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Master Sgt. Sean Harris, who helped coordinate the process, estimates that police officers will be wearing body cams by next fall. Among other things, they\u2019ll have to be trained on how to use them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLogistically, it will take some time to get it into place,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n The department plans to apply for a grant from the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. That agency has distributed about $8.5 million to 302 police departments since 2018 to help offset the cost of body cams and dash cams, according to staff.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Americans have gotten used to watching video footage of traffic stops and other police activity in recent years, especially in high-profile cases such as George Floyd\u2019s death.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s widely believed that video from a bystander\u2019s cellphone and police body cams<\/a> led to the murder conviction of Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee on Floyd\u2019s neck for more than nine minutes in May 2020 before Floyd died.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Supporters argue that cameras also can protect police officers from false accusations of unprofessional conduct and help with investigations and prosecutions by providing video evidence.<\/p>\n Many Illinois police chiefs like the idea of body cams, but some have complained that small departments in particular can\u2019t afford the \u201cunfunded mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beyond the initial purchase of cameras, chargers and other equipment, there are annual costs associated with computer software, data storage and manpower for video distribution, which may require editing to redact faces or conversations before footage is released to the public to protect privacy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These expenses can run thousands of dollars a year for small police departments, tens of thousands for larger ones, and hundreds of thousands for big cities and state police agencies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n O\u2019Fallon, Swansea and Washington Park were the only municipalities in St. Clair County where all police officers were wearing body cameras<\/a> as of last year. Cahokia Heights had started purchasing the equipment.<\/p>\n Most, but not all, police departments have dash cams in patrol cars.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Democratic-led Illinois General Assembly passed House Bill 3653 in January 2021, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed it into law Feb. 22. It provided for major criminal-justice reforms, including the elimination of cash bail and stricter rules on police conduct and use of force.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The law also is known as the SAFE-T Act, with the acronym standing for Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity \u2014 Today.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Officers required to start wearing body cameras<\/a> include Illinois State Police troopers. Last year, the agency estimated it would spend nearly $4.4 million to purchase the equipment and another $1 million a year to maintain the program.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As of 2016, about 47% of the more than 15,000 general-purpose law-enforcement agencies in the United States had purchased body cams,<\/a> according to a 2018 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the most recent study measuring nationwide usage. However, supplies, daily usage and procedures varied widely.<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 22, 2022 9:22 AM.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n Teri Maddox
\n <\/span><\/p>\n\u2018Embedded\u2019 into uniforms<\/h3>\n
The George Floyd effect<\/h3>\n
Dash cams more common<\/h3>\n
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