Police Body-Worn Cameras

In June, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new policy for automatically publishing body camera footage within 30 days when police officers kill or seriously injure someone. The step, he said, would give the public more assurances that they would actually see video captured in serious cases of police force, an implicit but often unrealized aim of the transparency program. But more than two months since the policy was implemented, old questions remain about who controls what footage is released, how it is edited and, ultimately, the narrative it creates.

Camera footage helped substantiate 7 percent more Civilian Complaint Review Board cases last year compared to cases without video, according to a new report released by the agency Wednesday.

These statistics, according to the CCRB, show that police-worn body cameras could help resolve cases involving police misconduct allegations. The NYPD is expanding its use of body cameras and expects to have deployed 5,000 cameras through 2018 and about 22,000 by the end of 2019.

The New York Police Department’s body camera program launched this week, but not without a fight from activists.

Last week, Communities United for Police Reform and other community groups filed a legal opposition to the NYPD’s then-proposed policy. Submitted to Judge Analisa Torres, they wanted to halt the program’s rollout. The community groups, along with entities like The Center for Constitutional Rights, believe the language of the program renders the concept of body cameras for cops meaningless.

NYPD body cameras are supposed to create police transparency and accountability, but police reform advocates are now seeking to block the program, arguing it could instead have the effect of protecting abusive officers. NY1's Bobby Cuza has the story.