THE IG IMPLICATIONS
OF POLICE BODY
CAMS
According to a national study, 60% of Americans
support the use of body cameras by law
enforcement and believe the devices would help
improve community-police relations. The 2015
Policing Perspectives Research Report, released
and commissioned by body cam developer Reveal,
also found that law enforcement agencies across
the country are discussing using the devices or
have already begun to equip their officers with
them following several controversial shootings of
citizens by police over the past year.
However, while the devices can bring greater
transparency to community-police interactions,
logistical issues, including data storage, are big
challenges and expenses.
For example, officers in the Coralville (Iowa)
Police Department first began wearing body
cameras last year, but ever since the department
has struggled with how to store the vast amount of
video data produced, Chief Barry Bedford told the
Iowa City Press Citizen.
The Coralville City Council recently authorized
$18,260 for the department to upgrade its
computer servers and buy additional digital
storage space for its body cam and dash cam data.
Bedford said the department
initially underestimated how much storage space
would be needed to retain video data long term.
With Coralville's 33 officers, who are required to
record each interaction, uploading an average of
about 70 total videos each day, the department is
amassing a huge backlog of data.
In 2014, Coralville spent $15,150 in federal
forfeiture funds for 15 new cameras and 6
terabytes (TB) of storage space. But after just six
months of officers uploading the recordings at the
end of each shift, it became apparent that wasn't
nearly enough. The new purchase will expand the
department's video storage capacity to 60 TB, with
another 60 TB used for backup and housed in a
separate building, according to the Press Citizen.
Bedford said the department wants to retain all
video files for two years, which is the statute of
limitations for civil tort action. That's also the time
period recommended by the Johnson County
Attorney's Office, federal agencies, and national