Adam Floyd, The Valdosta Times
VALDOSTA – The Valdosta and Lake Park police departments announced Tuesday they are upgrading their existing officer body cameras to a high definition camera system, which they hope will increase transparency and protect their officers from allegations of misconduct.
VPD first issued body cameras in 2009 when investigators in the detective bureau were issued the department’s first wearable cameras. In May 2014, VPD Chief Brian Childress expanded the program to issue body cameras to each of his patrol officers. The cameras were obtained at no charge from VieVu, the company that makes the cameras, as part of an upgrade to VPD’s in-car camera system.
Calls for law enforcement agencies to equip officers have increased over the past year in light of high-profile cases in Ferguson, Missouri and South Carolina. Childress said he purchased the cameras not in reaction to those incidents but to protect his officers.
“I trust these people. I put these cameras out there because I’m tired of people lying about my officers and putting complaints out there that aren’t true,” said Childress. “If (officers) are correct, I’m going to back them. If they are wrong, it’s my job to discipline them, not the public, not in marches.”On Tuesday, Childress announced the purchase of new, high-definition wearable cameras for each of VPD’s sworn officers, including detectives and administrative personnel.
“You’ll see me wearing one,” said Childress.
Each camera costs approximately $800, but Childress said he was able to trade-in the 100 cameras acquired last year to decrease the cost.
“It’s all money. If we had our way, we would have had these with all our staff last year,” said Childress. “We talked to the city manager, the city council and our mayor, and they are supporting these devices.”
Childress expects the department will have to replace about 30 percent of the cameras each year due to “wear-and-tear.”
Buying the cameras came with an unexpected benefit. Because of the large volume of the purchase, VPD was able to acquire body cameras for the Lake Park Police Department as well.
“The City of Lake Park had cameras before. The officers went out and bought them themselves,” said Lake Park Chief James Breletic. “It wasn’t for the city, it was for their protection. Thanks to the City of Valdosta and (VieVu) we are able to upgrade our cameras to what they use.”
Breletic said the cameras give his officers “peace of mind” and that he was grateful for VPD’s assistance in acquiring them.
“We are a very small department, and we don’t have a large budget to be able to supply our officers with a device like this,” said Breletic.
Childress said the cameras have improved the level of trust between the community and his officers.
“I get calls from people all the time who say something like, ‘My son was stopped, and he said the officer was rude. Can you check the camera for me?,’” said Childress. “Each time we do that, I invite the person down for coffee, and we look at the video.”
Complaints like that and other internal affairs investigations used to take weeks. The cameras now provide the opportunity to address the validity of complaints almost immediately, said Childress.
“This is not a one stop, solve everything solution. This is just an additional piece of the puzzle to determine what happened,” said Childress.
Agencies across the country are seeing positive results using body cams. Childress referenced a California study that saw a reduction in both complaints and use of force incidents among departments that have deployed the cameras.
Childress said he hopes more law enforcement agencies throughout the state adopt the system because it encourages transparency and helps address issues quickly.
“I’m not going to let this city burn down or become an issue like Ferguson. Either my officer is right or wrong,” said Childress. “It’s not the sin that gets you in trouble, it’s the lying about the sin that gets you in trouble. I’m a firm believer in that.”