- The Leon County Detention Facility will get 56 new body-worn cameras.
- It is an expansion that will now ensure every officer has a body-worn camera.
- Watch the video to learn how it could increase transparency and accountability within the facility.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The Leon County Detention Facility is getting more body-worn cameras. I'm Kenya Cardonne in the Southwest Tallahassee neighborhood. Neighbors and officers I spoke with say the extra transparency these cameras will provide is good for everyone.
"So a body-worn camera is worn by our officers," said Chief Craig Carroll, Leon County Detention Facility. "It's actually mounted to a strap that's right here in the middle of their chest, so that it gets a view of everything that happens in front of the officer."
And soon, every officer at the Leon County Detention Facility will wear one.
It's an expansion to the body-worn camera program that originally provided them to officers in high-liability areas including the booking, releasing and medical areas.
There will now be a total of 56 new body-worn cameras thanks to a recent grant from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
"Our facility operates with direct supervision, which means we're in contact with the inmates all the time," said Carroll.
Chief Craig Carroll says the goal is to enhance transparency and accountability while giving both inmates and officers an extra layer of protection that the facility's regular surveillance cameras might not offer since they do not record sound.
"I like it, the reason being because of liability purposes," said Leon County Detention Facility Sergeant DeCarlos Hogue. "It actually helps out with that."
Sergeant DeCarlos Hogue says wearing a body-worn camera makes him feel safe.
"If you only have just a visual, you know, things can be said that can be taken out of context because you can only imagine what's being said," said Hogue. "But with this camera here, it records everything, and it helps us a great deal."
"We don't know what's going on behind those walls, and by the time we find out what's going on behind those walls, it's too late," said neighbor Yvette Marshall.
With loved ones in the detention facility, Yvette Marshall also supports the use of body-worn cameras.
"Then once they have been put on, hold them accountable, because change doesn't come with stagnant same stuff," said Marshall.
Chief Carroll says the cameras will make a big impact on operations and training in the long run.
"Maybe it went a little bit too far, and the officer did something he should not have done — it's going to show that, and we will be able to use that on our side to discipline the officer or use whatever precautions that we need to take and training," said Carroll.
Officers are to wear the body-worn cameras for their whole shift, but they are not always recording. The officer hits record when they're having an encounter with an inmate or detainee. If an officer takes out their taser, it activates the camera to start recording too.
In Southwest Tallahassee, Kenya Cardonne ACB 27
