ARKADELPHIA, AR – The Arkadelphia Police Department (APD) just received body cameras for each officer and have had them operational for a week.
They say it can keep not only keep the officer honest but the public as well.
Corporal Joseph Paull actually asked for the city to equip he and other officers with cameras.
A number of complaints from the public was just one of the catalysts for the request.
“I feel sometimes that [the public doesn’t] trust us for, whatever the reason may be, whatever is happened somewhere else in the country,” he said. “I wanted it for me.”
Now, all 16 officers in the force are equipped with Taser Axon Flex “point-of-view” cameras to capture everything.
The cameras are detachable and can snap multiple places on the officers gear, primarily placed over the ear or connected to eye-wear.
If there was ever any question about who said or did what, it would be recorded and able to download within minutes.
They can even pull it up on an app in their smart-phone.
Lt. Jason “Shorty” Jackson has considered the project for several years, well before a strong national spotlight questioned the use or lack thereof.
This year the city of Arkadelphia made space for the $12,000 investment in the budget after APD made the request.
They put the cameras in use last week.
Police departments across the state are similarly equipping officers with body cameras but the majority of them consist of smaller agencies.
Neighboring Caddo Valley Police have had their officers equipped with body cameras for more than a month.
A larger department means a larger investment.
Both the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office and North Little Rock Police Department (NLRPD) say they are testing and evaluating certain models.
Little Rock Police say right now they are just reviewing and looking to update policies regarding the use.
NLRPD tell us they may have to buy cameras and storage space as budget allows.
Often times it’s not just the investment of the cameras alone but investing in enough data storage space for all the officers.
Whether an agency has them or not, it is something that’s been considered at most.
Many will agree, whether a violent encounter or just a routine traffic stop, the cameras are there to protect not only the officer’s word and safety but the public’s too.
“Everyone acts better when they know they’re being recorded,” Lt. Jackson suggested.
They say it can keep not only keep the officer honest but the public as well.
Corporal Joseph Paull actually asked for the city to equip he and other officers with cameras.
A number of complaints from the public was just one of the catalysts for the request.
“I feel sometimes that [the public doesn’t] trust us for, whatever the reason may be, whatever is happened somewhere else in the country,” he said. “I wanted it for me.”
Now, all 16 officers in the force are equipped with Taser Axon Flex “point-of-view” cameras to capture everything.
The cameras are detachable and can snap multiple places on the officers gear, primarily placed over the ear or connected to eye-wear.
If there was ever any question about who said or did what, it would be recorded and able to download within minutes.
They can even pull it up on an app in their smart-phone.
Lt. Jason “Shorty” Jackson has considered the project for several years, well before a strong national spotlight questioned the use or lack thereof.
This year the city of Arkadelphia made space for the $12,000 investment in the budget after APD made the request.
They put the cameras in use last week.
Police departments across the state are similarly equipping officers with body cameras but the majority of them consist of smaller agencies.
Neighboring Caddo Valley Police have had their officers equipped with body cameras for more than a month.
A larger department means a larger investment.
Both the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office and North Little Rock Police Department (NLRPD) say they are testing and evaluating certain models.
Little Rock Police say right now they are just reviewing and looking to update policies regarding the use.
NLRPD tell us they may have to buy cameras and storage space as budget allows.
Often times it’s not just the investment of the cameras alone but investing in enough data storage space for all the officers.
Whether an agency has them or not, it is something that’s been considered at most.
Many will agree, whether a violent encounter or just a routine traffic stop, the cameras are there to protect not only the officer’s word and safety but the public’s too.
“Everyone acts better when they know they’re being recorded,” Lt. Jackson suggested.
