WASHINGTON — The Baltimore County Police Department is joining a list of law enforcement agencies outfitting police officers with body-worn cameras.
The department announced 1,435 officers will be outfitted with the compact cameras. The cameras, which can be worn clipped to a uniform or in specially designed eyeglasses, will be rolled out in batches, starting with 150 to be deployed in July of next year, the department says in a news release.
Montgomery County is already piloting body-worn cameras, and D.C. and Prince George’s County have plans to start using the new technology as well.
As the departments begin to adopt the cameras, designed to document police interaction with the public, questions are still unresolved as to who has access to the videos, how to store the data and how the information will be used in court cases.
A Maryland commission is expected to ask state lawmakers to amend existing public information laws to restrict access to images caught by the body-worn cameras to protect the privacy of those caught on tape.
There have been concerns about how and when the cameras could be turned on, especially when police are dealing with victims of sexual assault or domestic violence.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
