UA says campus police to begin wearing cameras

FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas at Fayetteville police soon will be outfitted with body cameras while on patrol, said Capt. Gary Crain.

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"We're looking at probably three weeks, the later part of October, before they're actually out and in service," Crain said.

Forty cameras have been ordered, with the cost estimated at $20,000. Crain said he isn't sure whether police will need to buy a server on which to store the video. The camera manufacturer is Wolfcom.

Concerns nationally about police shootings and misconduct have led to more city and county departments using body cameras, including some in Arkansas.

Crain called the adoption of body cameras a "best practice" in policing.

"Most agencies that can do it are getting them. It's good documentation for the activity that an officer becomes involved in, and it's a safeguard for the officer and the citizens they encounter," Crain said. "People act a little differently when they know they're being videoed."

Among university police departments, Arkansas State University in Jonesboro began in May having officers wear cameras, with all patrol officers wearing them while on duty.

Police at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Central Arkansas at Conway also wear body cameras.

ASU police adopted a policy concerning privacy, which states that when consent is required to enter a residence [as opposed to a warrant search, for example], officers will inform the resident about the cameras and turn them off if asked to do so.

However, the ASU policy also states that "should exigent circumstances develop where the need to record the event outweighs any privacy concern, the officer will reactivate the device where feasible to do so irrespective of the residents desire."

Crain said UA-Fayetteville police will avoid filming where there is an expectation of privacy. A dorm room in a residence hall "could be one of the places where it will not be on," Crain said of cameras.

He said officers will be trained on using the cameras, but policies have yet to be finalized by the department.

"Those fine points still have to be discussed," Crain said.

Metro on 10/02/2015

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