Practical Barriers Block Police Body Cam Use In Salem

SALEM, MA — Demonstrations following the death of George Floyd while handcuffed by Minneapolis police officers have reignited debates about police work in America, including the use of body camera technology.

In Salem, Chief Mary Butler supports the concept of equipping police officers with body cameras but says there are several, practical hurdles the city would need to overcome. The biggest factor may very well be cost.

"The City would need to commit to the costs of the camera equipment, downloading devices and storage, but it would also need to commit to the hiring persons trained in technology who would be responsive to the public record requests and the court discovery process, while maintaining the individual privacy of persons captured on video," Butler said.

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Butler said body cameras are "not a panacea," as they do not capture all angled. But she believes they are useful tools.

"I am and have been in full agreement that body cams are a great tool to capture the words and actions of those involved when in direct view and you cannot just wash over an event that is recorded," Butler said. "I believe it has the potential to moderate behavior of those involved, but it is not a panacea, though it is a tool that can assist in furthering procedural justice and police legitimacy with its community."

In 2016, Salem was one of 40 Massachusetts police departments the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts called on to adopt body cameras for police officers. The police departments were places where the ACLU believed "body-worn cameras might offer a particular benefit, given their concentrations of potentially vulnerable populations."

While the Essex County Sheriff's Department became the first law enforcement agency in the state to adopt body cameras, there has been little adoption or widespread agreement on how to implement them. In Massachusetts, Boston and seven other police departments require body cameras. Some other Massachusetts police departments have implemented pilot programs.

"There is not a fundamental reluctance to embrace this use of this technology," Butler said. "Body cams can provide an avenue of protection for the community and the police officer as they can document interactions between police and public, and provide for transparency. It does have some restrictions, as it cannot capture what is going on in all directions because the devices lack that capacity."