Public safety officers in St. Joseph are the latest to be getting body cameras. Deputy Public Safety Director Steve Neubecker was given approval by the city commission Monday night for the purchase after testing several different brands last year and going with Panasonic as the city’s provider. He says there are several benefits to using the devices.
“Approval from the public; provides evidence; reduces citizen complaints; gives anybody a clear picture of what happened,” Neubecker said, adding there will be enhanced video collection for evidence. “It helps staff recognize patterns of officer behavior when things are being done wrong.”
The purchase from Tele-Rad in Holland is slightly over budget, coming in at $40,561. Neubecker noted the city could save about $4,000 by not having cameras that turned on automatically, but said they don’t recommend that due to possibility officers could forget to activate the cameras.
