Salem studying body cameras for police

Jun. 18—SALEM — The city's police officers could soon wear body cameras when on duty.

Salem's annual budget for the coming fiscal year includes an $11.6 million capital improvement plan that provides $90,000 for body-worn cameras for police. The five-year plan calls for another $65,000 to go toward the technology for each of the next four years. The spending was included in a short-term borrowing vote on this year's plan, which the City Council approved 10-1. The decision does not require a second and final vote.

Salem police Chief Lucas Miller said police body cameras are being explored in part due to the state's recently enacted police reform law, which was passed in response to calls for racial justice sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police last May.

"I have to imagine that everyone is moving forward on it," Miller said. "The criminal justice reform in Massachusetts doesn't specifically mandate an implementation date, but it did mandate a commission to study and recommend departments adopt it. It's in all our future, regardless of where we are right now."

Salem officials are working with the cities of Lynn and Methuen to explore the idea, Miller said, since both cities "are in a very similar position to us" and have cameras in place. Methuen has been using them since 2015 — Miller called them "an early adopter" — while Lynn recently launched the program.

Introducing body cameras is not as simple as purchasing the equipment. There's training, file storage systems that must be set up so the videos can be saved, and a hope to get local officers invested in the tech as well, according to Miller.

"There are a number of issues that still need to be worked out," he said. "I want buy-in from the union. I want it to be something the police officers are just as enthusiastic about as the public."

Union talks have "taken a bunch of different forms" in other communities, Miller said. "In some cases, there has been a stipend. In other cases, the union has agreed to it as part of an overall contract."

William Riley, president of the Salem police union representing patrolmen, declined to comment on the topic until "after we complete the bargaining process over the cameras."

Salem State University police are also exploring the implementation of a body-worn camera program for its patrol officers, university spokesperson Nicole Giambusso said.

In Salem, the rollout will be gradual. Neither Mayor Kim Driscoll nor Miller could say exactly how many cameras the $90,000 approved by the City Council will pay for, but the immediate goal is to outfit an entire shift. Officers coming off duty will pass them on to those punching in.

"The goal is to have any uniformed personnel in the patrol division wearing cameras. This will be our first tranche of funding to be necessary to do that," Driscoll said. "That also necessitates the buildout of storage of these videos, the ability to search."

Salem police Capt. Fred Ryan, the department's spokesperson, said each shift would require about 10 body cameras.

A sampling of North Shore residents walking downtown Thursday unanimously supported the idea of body cameras.

"Absolutely, emphatically yes," said Pam Hindman, a Peabody resident. "We would have never had the outcome with George Floyd if they didn't have the video."

Dan Gately, of Lynn, said the cameras can — and do — protect police, as well.

"A bunch of my classmates from high school are all Lynn police officers. They follow the rules," Gately said. "They're good community police officers. They help out where they can. But there's always a bad apple here and there, and we've gotta clear those bad apples out."

John Richard, of Salem, said body camera footage can strengthen court cases by putting the courtroom in the officer's perspective.

"Proof can be what it is," Richard said. "It makes the police better off with it. He'll have the actual camera work of what he was doing, and that's proof. Without the camera, things are going to be questionable with the courts, with the lawyers."

There isn't a timeline for when and how quickly cameras will roll out in Salem, Miller said. The overall cost once all cameras are purchased and in use hits around $1 million for a department of Salem's size.

"Once everything is ironed out," Miller said, "the company that we're dealing with seems to need a two-month window to provide us with the equipment and for us to put the training in place."

Driscoll acknowledged that the program is a significant investment, but said body cameras are going to be part of modern-day policing.

"Transparency helps highlight the good work our officers do on a daily basis, and that transparency enhances mutual respect and trust," she said.

This year's capital improvement plan also included $45,000 for "community cameras" to either create or improve security in areas of need, Driscoll noted.

The department's budget highlights the need to install new cameras "whether for crime prevention/investigation or protection of city investments." The five-year plan calls for another $45,000 to be spent each year, bringing the expense to $225,000 after five years.

"We're going to have increased coverage in areas we don't have it and upgraded cameras where we do have it," Driscoll said. "Technology has come so far in terms of digital imagery."

Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.