While the Community Oversight Board (COB) is aware that Mayor Cooper has announced a plan to deploy about 44 body worn cameras (BWCs) in 2020, the Board still finds it troubling that they have offered no plan on a full implementation and appear to be starting from the beginning when years of planning, research and work has previously been done.
Executive Director Jill Fitcheard shared that the Administration’s decision to deploy 44 cameras for a Metro Police Department of over 1,300 sworn officers is nothing short of perplexing. Outfitting about 3% of our city’s police officers with Body Worn Cameras does not address the needs of the community, and it also does not offer a solid foot forward. Moreover, the planned deployment of outfitting DUI and Traffic Officers with Cameras, when DUI Officers already have Dash Cam in their vehicles, does not seem to be a useful way to determine its impact on the Criminal Justice System. With the wide range of cases received by the District Attorney’s office and the courts, just focusing on DUIs and traffic cases will not give the complete cost for a range of incident types.
The Community Oversight Board has not been invited to weigh in on how the city should proceed with Body Worn Cameras and for the most part, the community has been – once again – not put at the forefront of the agenda. The Board understands the current budget constraints and are sympathetic, but to the greater extent, the stakeholders: The District Attorneys, The Public Defender and the Police Department have been at the table for many, if not all, of the criminal justice decisions. Since the Oversight Board will use the Camera data and advocates for the community, we must have a seat at the table as well.
“Our participation is vital,” stated Chair Ashlee Davis. “The Community Oversight Board must be at the table early and often for discussions related to Body Worn Cameras and a full implementation cannot wait any longer.”
“Had we been engaged and invited to participate, we would have voiced our concerns about the insufficient number of Cameras that has been approved for Metro Police in January 2020,” said Fitcheard. “We would recommend a strong evaluation component of Body Word Cameras by the use of a randomized selection of officers and increasing the number of officers outfitted.”
Metro Nashville Community Oversight’s research team is currently working on a policy advisory report related to body cameras that will make recommendations to Metro Police and the Mayor’s office related to Body Worn Camera implementation. Issues related to body worn cameras will continue to remain a priority to the Oversight Board and staff.