So Far, Body Cameras Working Out For Chicago Police: McCarthy
(CBS) – So far, so good. That's the word from the Chicago Police Department, which is testing body cameras on police officers.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports.
Body cameras like those already tested in Dallas can take the "he said/she said" out of police work. About 30 Chicago officers are wearing them through April.
Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy says three weeks into a pilot program here the cameras have added transparency.
"Everybody acts better when they're on film," McCarthy says. "Studies show that complaints against officers go down by about 80 percent."
Officer Daniel Feliciano says he was apprehensive about the new technology at first. But after wearing a body cam clipped to his uniform, he says he has noticed a difference in interactions with the public when he informs people they're being taped.
"It brings them down a notch, maybe from 10 decibels down to 2 decibels," he says.
Officers have the choice of wearing point-of-view cameras clipped to glasses, but most preferred the body cams.
Officers compile about 90 minutes of video per day of their interactions with the public. While McCarthy acknowledged it's expensive he would like to see the program move department-wide because it's good for everyone.
"I don't see very many downsides," he says.