he agency anticipates through the use of body cameras it will observe significant enhancements in five key areas of offender supervision:
1
Management & Supervision
Managers will have the ability to actually view an interaction as it truly occurred as opposed to relying on an account written solely from the officer’s perspective. This key ability will ensure the consistent application of quality offender supervision techniques by providing managers with unique opportunities to coach officers on specific supervision issues and reinforce skill development.
Chief Parole Officer Mitch Beddingfield says, “Through the use of this technology supervisors are able to make sure officers are addressing the needs and risks of offenders.” Beddingfield added that he’s also seen a reduction in the number of false complaints filed against his officers since the agency began using the equipment.
2
Training
Newly hired officers will benefit greatly from the ability to view high-quality video of field interactions performed by experienced parole officers during their nine-week training process. Videos will be used as positive and negative examples of how to properly conduct a field interaction and for issues surrounding officer safety. Traditionally, new officers were restricted solely to role playing scenarios which is the standard method of training for most academies.
3
Offender Reentry
Key community stakeholders invested in the successful transition and reentry of offenders such as substance abuse counselors, mental health professionals and faith based partners will now be able to view interactions with the offender directly. The videos will eliminate the sharing of misinformation and disinformation and will allow the aforementioned stakeholders to collaborate with the parole officer to develop or revise the offender’s transition plan.
4
Productivity
Productivity will be enhanced by the mere fact that officers will not spend as much time typing, handwriting or transposing interaction data. Officers will record the interaction and make simple point and click selections for supervision issues. Interaction quality will be enhanced because the officer is aware he or she is being recorded.
5
Interaction Quality
In a television interview with FOX 5 Atlanta, Nail said, “ Video interactions will also put an end to the day of the ‘hi and bye’ contact. Without question, officers will be held more accountable for conducting meaningful field interactions with offenders.” Officers will also have the ability to routinely review video of their own field interactions as a means of conducting self-assessments. The self-assessments will serve as a powerful quality assurance tool that officers can utilize to improve their individual supervision techniques.
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5 Key areas
of enhancement....
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