With an eye to increasing accountability, transparency and public trust, Goodhue County’s Sheriff’s Office has followed the lead of law enforcement agencies throughout the nation, including local police departments, in implementing a body worn camera program.
Since the beginning of the year, an internal committee led by Sheriff’s Department Major Mychal Johnson has worked hard to develop a comprehensive body worn camera policy based on model policies and best practices as implemented in other local communities.
Body worn cameras will soon be provided to all deputies and to all detention deputies in the adult detention center. Roughly half of the upfront cost of the new contract with manufacturer WatchGuard will be paid through special public safety funding through the state.
According to Johnson, cameras should be rolled out by July 1 for Adult Detention Center Staff, but Deputies aren’t likely to get the cameras until late fall, providing additional time to work through additional technological bugs before the cameras are deployed in the most high-intensity situations.
This week, the policy went before the Board for a public hearing, following numerous public notices in the Kenyon Leader and other local news outlets. Opportunities were provided for the public to learn about and comment on the proposed policy, both online and in-person.
Following a quick public hearing, the proposed policy was approved unanimously. Yet, while the policy might currently be acceptable to all, Johnson and Sheriff Marty Kelly stressed that the development of the policy is certain to be an ongoing process subject to constant revision.
“I’ve been involved with a body-worn camera before, it does constantly change — it changes with law, it changes with technology,it just changes sometimes with public perception,” Johnson said. “It is something that is constantly being reviewed as to can we do it differently, can we do it better and are we doing it correctly.”
With a desire for increased transparency in policing has been triggered by several high profile incidents, many local Departments have taken advantage of funding sources created or bolstered in recent years to create their own Body Worn Camera programs.
Even Kenyon’s Police Department, despite its small size and budget, was able to launch its own Body Worn Camera program last year, not only by seeking out a federal grant but also by securing support from local charitable gambling funds.
At the time, Kenyon Police Chief Jeff Sjoblom said it was important to get Body Worn Cameras to provide crucial transparency and protection. Moreover, with several states already requiring the cameras, Sjoblom said it’s only a matter of time before all Departments will have them.
Kelly said that being a little bit slower to move on implementing Body Worn Cameras hasn’t necessarily been a bad thing for the Sheriff’s Department, though he acknowledged that having the cameras would have been “nice in certain circumstances.”
Watching closely how other jurisdictions have implemented their programs, particularly the county seat of Red Wing, has helped staff to develop a refined policy which will hopefully avoid the pitfalls other programs have had to work through.
“That’s honestly one of the reasons why we waited, even after I was elected, was to see how the bugs can get worked out,” Kelly said. “I was curious as to how (other programs) worked and what particular brand.”
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