[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Budget Item: Police Body Cameras

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Bunzli, Peggy



Response to Hotline Questions From Council Member Young Regarding Police Body Cameras Budget Item
 
Questions:
 

1.     
What problem(s) are we solving with body cameras?
 
Body worn cameras can be a valuable tool to record interactions between officers and the public and to gather evidence at a scene. Cameras
 will be used to record in-progress calls, enforcement actions, contacts with individuals involved in actual or potential criminal conduct, contacts or situations that may become adversarial, suspicious incidents, and any contact or situation where the officer
 believes that a recording would be appropriate and/or valuable to document an incident.  Our plan is to assign cameras to individual officers to ensure accountability, usage, and oversight by supervisors. 




2.     
Big cities are deploying cameras to reduce police brutality and violence. How many complaints of police brutality and violence does the city receive on
 an annual basis?
 
Police brutality and violence would be categorized as Use of Force complaints against officers.  In 2012, we received one use of force complaint; in 2013,
 we received three use of force complaints; and in 2014, we have received two use of force complaints. 




3.     
What are the typical complaints against police officers and how often do these occur?
 
During the last three years, the police department has averaged over 61,000 calls for service.  Approximately 30,000 additional contacts are generated each
 year by officers, such as traffic stops, on-site arrests, and pedestrian contacts. The typical complaints we receive from the public are for rudeness and violations of department policy.  In 2012, we received 30 complaints from the public; in 2013, we received
 40 complaints from the public; and in 2014, we have received 22 complaints from the public. 
 
Comments:
 

1.     
The body cameras we are considering require manual operation. Regardless of whatever policy is in place, ultimately the police officer is responsible
 for turning the camera on and off. Furthermore, cameras have only a four hour capacity; most shifts are longer than that.
 
Body worn camera technology is manually activated by the officer. The video storage capacity is approximately four hours, however, based on the specific incidents
 that will require recording we believe this capacity will serve our needs throughout an officers’ ten hour shift.  Cameras do have limitations. The angle of a camera or the distance away from the activity may limit the documentation of an incident and may
 degrade the audio recording.  



 
 

2.     
The cameras' main use is to document contacts, i. e. to record evidence. Is the main purpose of this tool litigation prevention?
 
Litigation prevention is a potential outcome from recording interactions between officers and the public.
 

3.     
Boulder is not LA, New York or St. Louis. Our context is different: a town of just over 100K people, still small enough to consider people solutions.
 For example, one time funds such as the 16K that the police department will contribute towards the cameras in 2015, could be used as bonuses for officers who demonstrate exemplary conduct. Are body cameras a substitute for some other more constructive means
 that could accomplish the same thing?
 
The $16,500 one-time contribution comes from capital bond funding originally designated for Police cameras in vehicles. Purchase of those vehicle cameras came in under
 budget. It would be within original capital bond scope to reallocate the funds to Police body cameras. If these funds were not used for this purpose, they would need to be reallocated to another capital project within the scope of the capital bond, and would
 not be available for Police Officer bonuses, for example.
 

4.     
Community policing is a collective responsibility. Good relationships between the public and police officers enable good community policing, an important
 aspect of resiliency. The sight of a camera on a police officer could inhibit informal and friendly interactions for fear of being on camera. The effect being missed opportunities to cultivate trust and respect between officers and community members.
 
The police department operates on a community policing philosophy.  Our goal is to engage community members and business owners to build partnerships and solve problems.
  We are in the process of developing policies and procedures, based on industry standards and best practices, to provide appropriate direction, manage the body worn camera program, and to continue to focus on community policing philosophies. 


5.     
This comes with a price tag of $103,500 for 150 cameras ($74,250 one-time expense, $29,250 ongoing), but the one-time is not really one-time as all electronic
 equipment has designed obsolescence. Should we go this route, we would be adding a line-item expense every few years in perpetuity and I question if we really have a problem needing this particular solution or are we simply jumping on a band wagon?
 
The ongoing funding of $29,250 includes both annual maintenance costs for the equipment and annual replacement funding savings, in order to replace the equipment at
 the end of its life cycle.
 
 
Peggy Bunzli
Budget Officer
City of Boulder
303 441 1848
bunzlip at bouldercolorado.gov