At the start of 2017, the Athens County Sheriff's Office will become the first law enforcement agency based in the county to wear body cameras.
Athens County Sheriff Rodney Smith said the department plans to purchase 19 cameras, and deputies will start wearing the cameras early next year. They will cost $12,000 including fees and storage — $400 per camera. He believes the cameras will help provide evidence that could help the department's accountability and build community trust.
"Body cameras convey a straightforward message: You are being watched and videotaped, and you are expected to follow the rules," Smith said. "That goes for law enforcement and civilians."
The cameras could also help to train law enforcement officers. Smith said he plans to have deputies go over tapes with their supervisors to see how they could improve a deputy's policing.
For now, the Athens Police Department does not plan to follow suit.
"We are not currently looking at deploying cameras," Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said in an email.
OUPD Lt. Tim Ryan said his department also won't adopt body cameras, due to what he called "public record storage requirements."
"At least for our department, we feel the cost outweighs the benefits," Ryan said in an email.
The sheriff's office has not yet purchased the cameras, but Smith wants to have the cameras before the end of the year, as doing so would allow the department to receive a grant from the County Risk Sharing Authority, a liability risk sharing pool for mostly rural Ohio counties.
Eric Lucas, president of the Athens Building Industries Association, has also been raising money to help pay for the body cameras, a few in-car cameras and software maintenance.
"I think it's important that we protect both the guys who risk their lives for us and the public," Lucas said.
As of Oct. 3, the association had raised $8,000 toward a goal of $20,000.
Smith said he initially planned to install cameras in the department's cruisers, but decided the body cameras would be more useful.
The cameras will come from TASER International, the company known for manufacturing stun guns.
"It's going to be somewhat pricey initially, but we want to make sure we do it right," Smith said.
The sheriff's office has no plan to test the cameras in a pilot program first.
"We're just going to jump in the water," Smith said. "We already paid for the cameras, so we might as well get everyone involved instead of just one or two people."
Smith said he did have some privacy concerns about the cameras. He said unless the department is conducting an open investigation, the sheriff's office can redact parts of the video, such as license plate numbers and people's identities.
The sheriff's office is planning on releasing a policy guide regarding the cameras in a couple of weeks. Those guidelines will determine issues such as when deputies can turn cameras on or off, and how long the sheriff's office will keep footage, which Smith estimates will be 90 days.
"We have rough drafts," Smith said. "We have to send it to our insurance provider and the prosecutor's office, once they see it and approve, I can sign it."
Smith said at the moment, he can only foresee one real challenge: the department receiving constant requests to see video.
"Not that we have anything to hide, but it would be bothersome to have people in here every day asking to look at this or that," Smith said.
