Long Beach Police To Begin Testing Body Cameras For Officers
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Officers in Long Beach may soon have the latest must-have accessory in the law enforcement community – body cameras.
The Long Beach City Council has allocated more than $200,000 to begin a pilot program testing body cameras for police officers. When the program will begin and how many officers will wear the cameras is still to be determined, KNX 1070's Ron Kilgore reports.
After an increase in shootings involving officers, the department's use-of-force committee recommended the cameras to help ensure accountability," Commander Paul LeBaron said.
"Accountability would be that the officers know that they're on tape and they're going to act their best," LeBaron said. "We've also found that the community who's interacting with the officers realize that they're on tape and they're not as inclined to react violently or file a false complaint.
The officer body cameras will supplement the network of public and private surveillance cameras around the city. LeBaron said the goal is to eventually have all officers equipped with cameras on their uniforms.