Boston will begin rolling out a police body camera in the next few weeks, according to the mayor’s office.
“Boston is a model city in our nation for having strong police-community relations, and our goal is to continue building trust and positive relationships between law enforcement officers and community members,” Walsh said in a statement. We will continue to move forward in implementing a body camera program here in Boston as a way to support the incredible progress we have made in community policing.”
In April, the city issued the phones necessary to use the body worn cameras in two police precincts that cover South Boston and parts of Dorchester, as well as to officers in the gang unit. Training for those officers began May 6 and take a few weeks, according to the mayor’s office.
Boston put a pilot program in place more than two years ago, in September 2016, that equipped officers in five police district and officers in the Youth Violence Task Force with 100 cameras, according to The Boston Globe.
About 140 officers used the cameras and were compared in a study with a similar group who did not wear cameras at the time, the newspaper reports.
The mayor said the study showed “small but meaningful” improvements in officer’s interactions with the public, the newspaper reports.
Post time: May-20-2019