VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) – The Vigo County Sheriff’s Office recently incorporated a new safety measure to use while out in the field.
It’s been nearly a year since Sheriff John Plasse proposed buying department body cameras to the Vigo County commissioners.
Now, they are officially in use.
The Vigo County Sheriff’s Office started rolling out these new cameras last week — after working out a five-year, $552,000 contract with Utility Incorporated.
There are 37 body-worn cameras and 41 in-car cameras.
With the recent events involving the credibility of police departments around the country — Vigo county Sheriff, John Plasse, tells News 10 there has been a renewed call for body cameras on officers in the field.
“It seems like from the public’s point of view they need that transparency, and I feel like they need that transparency.”
Plasse says many states are starting to mandate the use of body cameras, and he wanted to get ahead of that.
“This is just for us to show that we’re not hiding anything. We don’t teach our deputies to do anything illegal, to treat people bad — we teach them the opposite — to enforce the laws, treat people with respect and courtesy. This will be a way to validate that.”
Plasse says like any new technology, there is skepticism that follows.
He says the intention of the cameras is not to watch his deputies’ every move — it’s to support and protect them, as well as the community.
Other body cameras require a manual double-tap for activation.
The Sheriff’s Office’s are CAD (computer aided dispatch) activated.
“When our call comes up on the computer, you’re dispatched. When you get into that geofence in the area, they automatically start recording.”
There are different things that activate the cameras.
“If you pull your gun out, the sensor will turn on — it will start recording. If you turn on your lights and sirens, they’ll start recording.”
Plasse says this eliminates some of the issues that come with manually turning them on.
He believes these cameras will have a positive impact on the relationships between deputies and the community.
These cameras also send an alert when an officer has been laying horizontal for an extended period of time. The device sends his location and deputies can act as quickly as possible.
