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CHP Could be Next Force to Wear Body Cameras

By Chase Scheinbaum
February 4, 2015
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A segment for KCET's award-winning TV show "SoCal Connected" has been produced in tandem with this story. Watch it here now.

The Los Angeles Police Department may be ahead of the pack when it comes to outfitting its officers with body worn cameras, but lots of other law enforcement agencies are close behind.

Among them, the California Highway Patrol, whose 8,000 officers may someday soon be outfitted with body cameras. The department has not yet purchased cameras but is "actively researching" them, according to spokesman Officer John Harris. The department is working toward launching a pilot program in the "near future." Like the LAPD, the highway patrol has not adopted a policy for their use, Harris said.

State lawmakers have turned their attentions to outfitting highway patrol officers with cameras. "Technology is the next forefront. I'm not trying to turn anyone into 'Robocop' but we definitely need to have the public see what's going on in interactions between police officers and the public," Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles)told ABC.

Cameras are already mounted on about two thirds of highway patrol vehicles, a feature they credit with lowering complaints against officers.

"These cameras have proven to be a valuable tool for law enforcement officers as evidence in the prosecution of violators; a defense against claims of officer misconduct, a deterrent to suspects who have a tendency to become violent, and as a training and self-evaluation device," Harris said.

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