POTTSVILLE — Beginning at midnight Monday morning, officers of the Pottsville Bureau of Police department will begin using body cameras.
The implementation of the body cameras comes after more than a year of planning that included field testing to select the best-suited equipment, comparative pricing submissions to obtain not only the body worn cameras but also data storage for a department that handles more than 12,000 incidents a year, internal drafting of a policy and procedure, and preparation of a federal grant application for funding.
Pottsville Police Chief Richard F. Wojciechowsky said the total cost that will be spread over five years came in about $90,000 after several negotiations with Motorola Technologies.
That price, he said, includes all the cameras and accessories, secure Cloud storage, redaction and dissemination programs, new replacement cameras halfway through the contract, and a maintenance agreement.
Pottsville is the first police department in the state to utilize the Motorola equipment and is working in cooperation with local vendor Greens Communications.
The police department encountered a delay in actually purchasing the cameras because it was able to secure a grant through the U.S. Department of Justice to help fund the program.
Wojciechowsky said that grant, totaling about $45,000, will pay for more than half the expense but would not have covered any purchases made prior to the grant being awarded and additional federal requirements being met.
“It would have been very fiscally irresponsible of us to proceed without making a concerted effort to obtain this alternate funding once we were aware of the grant opportunity,” Wojciechowsky said.
“While it was a very competitive process, Captain John Morrow and I were confident we could prepare an application that would give us a solid chance at being selected.”
The pilot program that goes online beginning with officers from Watch 1 at midnight tonight into Monday morning is designed to allow the participating officers the opportunity to become familiar with not only the camera operations, capabilities and best practices in how they will be worn and operated, but also the practical implementation of the departmental policy and procedure that includes when and where they will be activated.
By using the cameras during the pilot program, the chief said, the patrol officers will provide feedback on field use practices that are most beneficial to the public and officers. He and his command staff will review audio/visual data collected to help evaluate the efficacy of the program and make alterations as needed.
“While the policy for the most part is definite, it is still a working document,” Wojciechowsky said. “If our pilot program team identifies an area that we need to readdress, we certainly will do so.”
The pilot program will continue for at least 45 days until Wojciechowsky said he and other members of his command staff feel officers are comfortable with the operation of the devices and also knowledgeable of the policies and procedures.
After that, the remaining officers in the department will complete the necessary training and go active with the devices.
Body cameras, he said, will benefit both the officers wearing them as well as the citizens they come in contact with.
“We’re going to have additional visual evidence to accompany police reports and witness accounts,” he said.
Two of the many areas that will immediately benefit from the use of body cameras are domestic incidents, and DUI and other traffic stops.
“For victims of domestic violence, we’re going to acquire additional on-scene evidence documented for future use and that helps us serve the victim’s interests even better,” Wojciechowsky said.
For DUI cases, the chief said, one of the pluses will be that field sobriety tests will be recorded so that evidence can be presented in addition to the testimony of the arresting officer, with or without BAC lab results being available.
The chief cautioned that although images from the cameras will help, they are only a supplement to the work officers already do.
“This data does not replace accurate and complete report writing in any way, it only enhances it,” Wojciechowsky said.
With the cameras, the chief said “in addition to providing quality testimony, we can also supply visual evidence documenting the charges that we have filed.”
“This is just another tool we will have to do our jobs even better,” Wojciechowsky added.
The model of camera chosen by the Pottsville Bureau of Police has a touch screen, similar to a cellphone, and a front-facing screen so those being recorded can see themselves. It will also provide an audio and visual indicator when activated, but has the ability to go covert when necessary.
During field testing, the front facing video feature was found to often deter a person who may be acting in a disorderly or otherwise disruptive way.
“During field testing this was proven to be a valuable deterrent is many situations,” Wojciechowsky said. “People are able to see in real time what they’re doing and how they’re acting and the behavior ceases before the situation escalates into more serious nature and/or a use of force incident.”
“This provides another dual benefit to the public and our officers in that it reduces the need for physical actions that put everyone involved at risk,” the chief said.
The new devices, in addition to operating as a camera, will also replace the current microphones and will function wirelessly, he said.
“It eliminates the cords officers currently must wear and also erases the possibility that the officers would have to carry yet another piece of equipment while on duty,” he said.
Wojciechowsky said officers of his department conduct themselves in a professional manner each and every day and that “video captured by our cameras will confirm and positively reinforce this behavior.”
“I’m constantly proud of every member of our department and am absolutely confident the use of the cameras on duty will benefit them and the citizens we serve,” Wojciechowsky added.
Contact the writer: fandruscavage@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6013