"We have ordered 50 cameras for the officers, and we expect those to be in within the next couple of weeks," Tomball Police Chief Billy Tidwell said. "I would expect to receive them sometime in April, and then we'd go through on the training of the policy and cameras. You'll start seeing them on the officers beginning in May."
The department plans to equip each of the 42 full-time officers with the new L3 Mobile Vision body-worn cameras, as well as three part-time officers and three fire marshals with a couple extra devices on reserve, Tidwell said. In addition, each of the 13 police vehicles will receive real-time streaming capabilities added onto the existing dashboard camera software in May, he said.
"From the live-streaming standpoint, we have occasions where the [police] radios are in an area where they don't always transmit or receive signals," Tidwell said. "[The streaming] helps [dispatchers] locate them. If the officer has some situation where they get into trouble and someone attacks them, that's being viewed by the dispatcher. I think it's going to be really good for the community."
Although the city did not originally have funds specifically allocated for the technology additions, Tomball City Manager George Shackelford said officials were able to purchase the new equipment with $40,000 in budget reserves.
During a Feb. 16 City Council meeting, Tidwell gave a presentation about the pros and cons of body-worn camera implementation and cited a research study conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum and U.S. Department of Justice during the past few years. The study used information gathered from more than 250 police departments throughout the country that use body-worn cameras.
The study indicates some of the benefits of body-worn cameras include perceived increased transparency of police actions, a civilizing effect for both officers and residents, reduced complaints, new training opportunities and additional ways to provide evidence for prosecution, Tidwell said.
"[Police] shifts without cameras experienced twice as many complaints as shifts with cameras [in the study]," Tidwell said. "Some of that reaction may be on the part of the officer and how they handle situations because citizens respond to the cameras differently, and officers respond differently. The cameras do cut down on frivolous citizen complaints."
The study indicated some of the concerns regarding body-worn cameras include violation of privacy issues with the new technology, developing new policies and training, lack of storage space and the potential for officers to download recordings outside of the police station.
With the sudden influx of new police technology, Texas legislators are filing bills to determine regulations for body-worn cameras in the future.
During the Feb. 16 meeting, Tomball City Councilman Mark Stoll said he feels the implementation of body-worn cameras will be beneficial for the community.
"I want to protect the citizens of Tomball and the officers overall," Stoll said. "I think this is a way we can move forward."
The Houston Police Department and the Harris County sheriff's office received a donation of an estimated $2 million from the district attorney to equip officers with body-worn cameras this year as well.
