2020/10/19 - Mayor's Column: OPD's Body Worn Camera Program
“AN OPEN DOOR TO O’FALLON”
A WEEKLY NOTE FROM MAYOR HERB ROACH
O’Fallon’s Police Department is one of the most professional, well-trained, and respected departments in the State of Illinois. We are always looking for ways to maintain O’Fallon’s high level of safety and continue to create community partnerships. The OPD’s newest step forward in professionalism has us all excited for the future of the community.
We are excited to announce the implementation of the O’Fallon Police Department Body Worn Camera Program. In early July, the department began researching various body worn cameras and obtained bids from various companies. After an extensive research and an evaluation period, the department decided on the Axon 3 Body Camera from Axon Enterprise. Axon is the nationwide leader in body worn cameras and is the company that brought the Taser to the market.
The O’Fallon Police Department’s use of body worn video camera technology will be a valuable tool in accurately documenting events, actions, conditions, and statements made during investigative stops, field interviews, arrests, and critical incidents. Body cameras are an asset intended to assist department officers in the prosecution of certain offenders by augmenting an officer’s testimony with a video/audio record of the incident.
Although it does not capture everything the officer sees, it will be beneficial for court and will document a clearer picture of what happened during an incident. The use of the cameras increases transparency and provides an opportunity to capture the good work that the police officers do daily. Additionally, this equipment will enable department administrators to conduct periodic reviews of officer-citizen contacts, for quality control purposes and will aid in the investigation of citizen complaints.
After receiving training, all officers will be issued a body camera and will be wearing it while in uniform. The program will be operational the week of October 19th.
O’Fallon’s Police Chief Eric Van Hook recently said, “We have always strived to deliver exemplary service to our community while maintaining a high level of professionalism and transparency. Body Cameras will be valuable tool to help us continue this mission.”
I completely agree with Chief Van Hook and strongly believe that this new body camera program is yet another step that the O’Fallon Police Department is taking to remain the best police department around. O’Fallon’s Police Department will be within the 9% of departments in the state to have body worn cameras.
The cost of the body cameras will be funded through seized funds with a possibility of grant funding in Spring 2021. The initial cost of the cameras and hardware totaled about $46,845 with annual licensing and storage costs of $14,500.
As residents of O’Fallon, you should always be able to reach out to your elected officials and ask questions about what is happening in O’Fallon. Having open communications is important to me and something I care very deeply about. Thank you for reading, and please remember, my door is always open (virtually, at least)!