As Steve Soboroff and the LAPD continue to gain funding and momentum to equip police officers with body-worn video cameras, the Fort Collins Police Department in Colorado has already embraced the concept and is now using body worn video cameras.
According to CBS Denver, some of the video cameras were first deployed in August 2012, but the department plans to add another 60 to police officers in the coming months.
However, a main concern among critics and the public is that officers equipped with the body-worn video cameras have the option to turn the cameras on and off.
“Police officers might be able to turn them off when their behavior is questionable,” said Cheryl Distaso with the Fort Collins Community Action Network, also adding that the cameras could be considered an invasion of privacy, seeing as “Police officers enter people’s homes. They enter their personal space. And there is no way to opt out.”
The Fort Collins City Council will vote on adding the additional cameras next month on November 5th. If approved, the estimated cost is roughly $181,000, and they could be in use as early as January 2014.