St. Louis County Police Department To Become Largest In Missouri With Mandatory Body Cameras

St. Louis County Police Department To Become Largest In Missouri With Mandatory Body Cameras

By April, the county police department will outfit nearly 700 officers with cameras. But the city’s department of 1,300 does not have a parallel program in the works.

St. Louis County will soon outfit its entire police department with body cameras, becoming the largest department in Missouri to do so.

Nearly 700 officers will wear the cameras at all times by April, St. Louis Public Radio reported. In July, the county council approved a $5 million allocation to pay for the cameras and unlimited data storage. A half-cent sales tax increase for public safety, approved by voters in November 2017, will fund the police department’s five-year contract with its provider.

“I think this is an example of how we’re forward-looking and how we try to set an example for law enforcement in the state,” Jon Belmar, the county police chief, told the radio station.

The decision came after the county piloted body cameras with 75 officers in 2014, shortly after Michael Brown’s death at the hands of a Ferguson police officer sparked a national movement calling for police accountability. Since then, Belmar told SLPR that camera technology has improved and given the department more flexibility in terms of what their cameras can do.

St. Louis County police will wear the cameras mounted on their smartphones and tuck them under their shirt. The officers will also be equipped with Bluetooth wristwatches that alert them if the camera is on, and an in-car router will instantly upload video footage to the cloud.

The department will require officers to turn the cameras on during “all enforcement activities,” including arrests, warrant execution, traffic stops and more. Belmar said officers will receive extensive training that will help ensure they turn on the cameras during these interactions.

County Executive Sam Page, who signed the measure that approved funding for the cameras, said told local news station KSDK that the department will make widely sought video footage available as soon as possible, as long as a public release does not interfere with ongoing investigations.

“We also recognize the public has a right to know, so as fast as we can get relevant video in front of people, we’re going to try to do that," Page said.

Belmar echoed Page’s calls for transparency when carrying out police work, adding that the videos will help provide context to interactions between civilians and officers.

“Obviously accountability is important,” he said. “But one of the most important things is context. Somebody takes a 15-second video on a smartphone of an interaction between an officer and somebody else, there’s no context provided before or after that.”

While the county will soon implement the policy, St Louis City’s department of about 1,300 officers has no parallel body camera program and has not seen much action on the issue since 2017, The Riverfront Times reported. The city’s public safety director, Jimmie Edwards, told the newspaper that he supports a program but that the cost would be “problematic” in the short and long term.

"I envy St. Louis County," Edwards said. "I hope the public realizes that we agree that officer safety is improved with body cameras, as well as public safety and police accountability. We agree with all of that."

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Accelerating a Pathway

    There is a new trend touting the transformational qualities of AI’s ability to deliver actionable data and predictive analysis that in many instances, seems to be a bit of an overpromise. The reality is that very few solutions in the cyber-physical security (CPS) space live up to this high expectation with the one exception being the new generation of Physical Identity and Access Management (PIAM) software – herein recategorized as PIAM+. Read Now

  • Protecting Your Zones

    It is game day. You can feel the crowd’s energy. In the parking lot. At the gate. In the stadium. On the concourse. Fans are eager to party. Food and merchandise vendors ready themselves for the rush. Read Now

  • Street Smarts

    The ongoing acceptance of AI and advanced data analytics has allowed surveillance camera technology to shift from being a tactical tool to a strategic business solution. Combining traditional surveillance technology with AI-based data-driven insights can streamline transportation systems, enhance traffic management, improve situational awareness, optimize resource allocation and streamline emergency response procedures. Read Now

  • The Progress of Biometrics

  • Next-Gen AI for Smart Cities

    The future of smart city technology is not being shaped in Silicon Valley — it is taking root in Dubuque, Iowa. With a population of about 60,000, this mid-sized city has become a live testbed for AI-driven traffic management thanks to a unique public-private collaboration led by Milestone Systems. Project Hafnia demonstrates how cities can transform urban mobility and safety through Responsible Technology—without costly infrastructure overhauls. Read Now

New Products

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings.

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.