The Athens Police Department is considering a $99,000 purchase of body cameras for its officers, but the money may not be in the city’s budget.
The cameras might cost $99,000 over five years, Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said.
“It has a huge effect on employment cost and payroll costs in my department,” Pyle said.
According to a previous Post report, the Athens Police Department didn't spend $67,000 of its nearly $4 million budget in 2016, but that money is split up in various funds for specific purposes and may not be available for the body cameras.
“It’s a funding issue that council will have to decide on," he said.
Pyle said the cost of the cameras doesn’t account for other potential costs. He said APD does not release victims’ or uncharged suspects’ names, or anyone’s personal information, such as social security numbers. The videos would have to be heavily edited for release as public records.
Pyle estimated APD makes about 2,000 arrests per year. He said that could amount to nearly 40 hours of footage to edit every week, which might require another full-time staffer.
“I recommended to council Monday night that we consider hiring a full-time public records employee,” he said. “It could be pricey.”
Though Pyle doesn’t have an opinion on the body cameras, council members were largely in support of some type of police recording device at their meeting on Monday night, according to a previous Post report.
Councilman Patrick McGee, I-At Large, the managing attorney of the Center for Student Legal Services and a longtime public defender, said body cameras could help in the courtroom.
“I’m definitely a proponent of the body cameras,” McGee said. “When I’m in the courtroom, I hear different stories, and I always wonder if having a body camera or a recording device would illuminate the truth.”
McGee provided an example in which a local prosecutor was able to obtain a conviction for an OVI charge based only on video.
“(The prosecutor) obtained a conviction based solely on a recording of the defendant in that case because of his slurred speech and movements,” McGee said.
McGee said the recording devices didn’t necessarily need to be cameras to be effective.
“You might get the same kind of protection with a recording device that is not necessarily a camera,” McGee said. “Often, the real issue is what is said, not so much as what is seen.”
Councilman Kent Butler, D-1st Ward, said the body cameras could be good for the community.
“If we consider safety as a paramount issue and the assistance of technology in our community, this is a great starting point,” Butler said.
