Police to get new body cams

The Green River Police Department will receive new body cameras as part of an upgrade it plans to initiate in the coming months.

Captain Shaun Sturlaugson of the GRPD said the equipment the department has is, at its oldest, a decade old – dating back to when the department first started equipping officers with body cameras. He said some cameras are newer, replacements for equipment that has broken over the years, but still relies on older technology and infrastructure.

“We’re still using the original equipment,” Sturlaugson told the Green River City Council Tuesday night.

He said the department started planning an upgrade to its camera system two years ago, admitting some “hiccups” had caused the department to postpone its plans to initiate that upgrade. However following the Council’s unanimous approval of a bid by Watchdog Video Inc., he believes it would only take a few months to complete.

This process includes the company sending a representative to install new equipment and train officers in how to use it.

Police Chief Tom Jarvie said the new body cameras will allow for uploading video through Wi-fi , cutting the amount of time needed top upload video on the department’s system. Jarvie said a bottleneck can occur when multiple officers respond to a call and once back at the department, wait in line to upload footage from their cameras. Only one officer can upload their video at a time.

While Jarvie admits the cameras can break at the worst possible times, he says they have become great tools for the department. Aside from the accountability aspect, where concerns about an officer’s actions can be addressed through review of footage taken by the camera, Jarvie said the body cameras have helped when taking statements from witnesses and documents other aspects of an investigation.

Specifically, he said recorded statements from people taken while an officer is interviewing them carry more weight than if the officer only wrote down the statements given to them.