Body cams could restore faith in police, as long as they’re on

More and more police departments are betting that body cams will help settle disputes over use of force.

The NYPD is the latest to adopt them. All officers will wear body-worn cameras now.

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But will body cams work?

CBS’s Jeff Pegues tried to find out if they’re making a difference.

Pegues spoke with Peter Newsham, interim chief of the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department.

“It’s a huge role,” Newsham said. “And that’s the thing that I think folks have to keep in mind is that the community really wants this.”

So what is the protocol for body cams?

“Almost every time one of our officers has an interaction with somebody in the public, they’re required to turn it on,” Newsham said. “When our officers get a call for service, the dispatch will actually ask them if they have turned their camera on and then the officer has to respond that they have.”

And that’s the key — to remember to turn them on.

The mechanics of the cameras are pretty simple. Police just push a button and the device begins recording audio and video.

But doing it in the heat of the moment is another matter.

The Metropolitan Police Department had to adjust its policy after last year’s the fatal shooting of Terrence Sterling, when an officer with a body camera failed to turn it on.

So will these cameras restore trust in the police?

“Law enforcement is trying to do the right thing,” Newsham said. “For our department in particular, for them to embrace this body-worn camera program that we have says to me that my folks feel like they’re doing the right thing almost all the time and they want everybody to see it.”

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