Specialty Team Deployment of Body-Worn Cameras
Feb 24, 2021 12:00AM ● By By Sergeant Rod Grassmann, Sacramento County Sheriff's Office
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CA (MPG) - The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce that effective February 15, 2021, the specialized units of Gangs, Homeless Outreach and North Problem Oriented Policing (POP) will be equipped with body worn cameras. After a process that started with field-testing cameras in 2017, and officially requesting funding for body cams in 2018, our body worn program has finally begun. This pilot program approach allows the sheriff’s office to study and evaluate the effectiveness, as well as the technology, data storage and best practices.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office is committed to an ongoing partnership with our community to provide the highest level of service based on trust and transparency. In addition to our in-car camera systems which have been utilized for over a decade, the implementation of the body worn cameras will allow deputies to document incidents and interactions and obtain evidence during investigations. In terms of evidence collection, body worn cameras and in-car cameras provide an invaluable record of statements, physical evidence, and timeline of events during crimes in progress and other critical incidents.
Additionally, the sheriff’s office will be able to review the video footage to debrief critical incidents and use the camera footage as a training tool to keep officers well trained and prepared. We embrace this valuable tool and are proud of our deputies’ professionalism as they provide service to the Sacramento County Community.
We are on track for a full deployment of body worn cameras by June 2021. The agency wide distribution of body-worn cameras for deputies will enhance safety, increase accountability, reduce County liability and advance prosecution.