Sheriff's office has new body cameras
CHILLICOTHE – Although it's not quite the television show "Cops," Ross County sheriff's deputies might be capturing those involved in criminal activity on video more frequently now that deputies are wearing body cameras while on patrol.
Sheriff George Lavender said the purchase of the TASER cameras has been in the works for about two years, with the help of $10,000 in grant funding and $2,000 from the department's budget. The department tested the cameras on patrol sergeants and has now given out about 22 to patrol deputies.
"These days, when they (deputies) are out in the field, they are being filmed anyhow," Lavender said. "Now the public can know they are, too."
The cameras can store up to six hours of footage, have 12-hour battery lives and offer more range than dashboard footage. Each patrol deputy has already begun wearing a camera on his or her chest.
"They are just another tool to make us more efficient," Lt. Mike Preston said.
The cameras will be turned on throughout the duration of each shift but will not begin recording until patrol deputies push a button on the device. Once recording has begun, footage of the 30 seconds before a deputy recording will also be saved with footage but without audio.
After a shift ends, each deputy will return the camera to the law enforcement center, where footage is stored under the category of each emergency call, said Kevin Claypool, who is controlling the footage through the cloud-based storage for the department.
"Deputies have no control of editing," Claypool said. "They put the cameras on a dock to charge them, and it downloads whatever is on it."
Lavender said the idea for the cameras came from a need to gather more evidence and better respond to complaints. Further recording equipment could be purchased for the department's corrections staff to help monitor jail inmates.
"We are working to get our deputies in the habit of turning the camera on before getting out of the car," Lavender said. "We want these cameras on the people."