The Common Council voted to delay the implementation of body cameras Tuesday after reviewing the recommendations of a recent report on their popularity among the community.
In a report released earlier this year by Madison police and a special ad hoc committee tasked with studying the issue, numerous concerns arose regarding the possibility of patrol officers wearing body cameras.
The estimated costs for body cameras, including the cameras themselves and server infrastructure to store video footage, total $955,000 for the city’s five police districts.
“The most important finding from going over everything, was that there is no strong feeling or detailed argument in favor of police officers wearing body cameras,” said Jacquelyn Boggess, co-director of the Center for Family Policy and Practice, a nonprofit that conducted interviews with community members and police officers to get their views.
Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5, said the council decided to launch the committee to seek community input when a proposal for a pilot program came up during the 2014 budget negotiations.
“[The report] is one of the best pieces of community engagement, especially of communities that are most impacted that we don’t hear often about,” Bidar-Sielaff noted.
Madison Mayor Paul Soglin, though praising the report, emphasized a need to focus on educating the public on what the laws currently are as a way to help establish trust between the public and police.
“I have been struck by a lack of information or knowledge on what the law is or what is the best strategy,” Soglin said.
The committee tasked with exploring the issue decided to possibly revisit the recommendations at a later date.
“This doesn’t mean we are opposed to it forever,” said Veronica Lazo, co-chair of the Community Policing and Body Camera Ad Hoc Committee. “Right now we are delaying it to take the concerns of the community into consideration.”
