The State University of New York at Fredonia has announced that starting this week, University Police officers will begin wearing body-worn cameras (BWCs). BWCs have become much more commonplace among police departments across the country, and they are being adopted by other University Police departments across the SUNY system.
BWCs provide video and audio recordings of interactions between officers and members of the campus community they serve. University Police Chief Brent Isaacson noted that they provide additional transparency and accountability for all persons involved whenever there is a concern raised about interactions between officers and the public.
BWCs are worn on officers' uniforms, and they will be activated, with rare exceptions, whenever a police officer is responding to a call for service or engaged in a law enforcement activity. The officers will not have their cameras operating continuously, and they will not be activated when an officer is seen at a campus event like the recent "Cones with a Cop" event or when they are saying hello to students in academic buildings during class changes. And, in line with university policy, the cameras will not be activated in certain sensitive situations where an individual's privacy is paramount.
Chief Isaacson noted, "The officers and staff of University Police care deeply about the safety of our campus and the success and wellness of our students. The implementation of a body-worn camera program is UPD's latest effort to use the best tools and techniques of community policing to build a trusting relationship with our campus community."
