On August 24-27, 2020, the Body-worn Camera (BWC) Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) team, in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), held the 2020 BWC TTA Virtual National Meeting. This meeting was primarily intended for FY 2019 BWC Policy and Implementation Program (PIP) grant agencies, but was also open to previous years' grantees. Members of the BWC TTA Team, subject matter experts (SMEs), and representatives from BJA also participated in the meeting.

Due to COVID-19, this meeting was held in a virtual format. Each of the 2020 Virtual National Meeting training sessions were recorded, and you may access the session recordings and slides (as applicable) by visiting the page below.

To access the National Meeting recordings and slides, click here.

La Crosse County sheriff receives DOJ grant for body cameras

The La Crosse, WI, County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to purchase body cameras, Sheriff Jeff Wolf announced Tuesday. “While I have complete trust in the integrity of the men and women that serve in the sheriff’s office, this grant will allow us to implement another layer of transparency for the public that we serve,” said Wolf. “With rapid improvements in today’s technology, the body-worn cameras have become a necessity for law enforcement and correctional work. While they do not replace the good work that our staff does, they will certainly supplement their efforts.” The program the sheriff’s office is implementing will work in concert with the mobile camera system in marked squad vehicles. It will make video retention and answering of open records requests easier and faster. Viewing of all video will aid staff through training and debriefing of incidents, Wolf said.

A key tenet of a body-worn camera (BWC) program is a comprehensive, well-developed, clear, and concise policy. As such, one of the primary ways in which the BWC Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) team assists agencies implementing a body-worn camera program is through policy review guidance and support. For grantees in the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Body- Worn Camera Policy and Program (PIP), this process can be accomplished using either the BWC Policy Review Scorecard or the BWC Policy Certification Form.

To read the commentary, click here.

On this episode of LE Tech Talks, Deputy District Attorney Damon Mosler, a BWC TTA Lead, sat down with two representatives from Newport, RI, Police Department, a FY2018 BWC Policy and Implementation Program (PIP) site, to discuss lessons learned from their BWC program.

DDA Mosler spoke with Sergeant Gregory Belcher and Lieutenant Kevin Moreira to discuss the importance of a pilot program, utility of computer-aided dispatch integration, garnering officer-buy in, and more.

To listen to the podcast, click here.