Boston Police begin roll out of body camera program

BOSTON — Boston Police officers are officially being equipped with body-worn cameras after a successful year-long pilot program.

As of Monday, June 3, BPD officers in various neighborhoods throughout the city will begin wearing the technology.

According to Boston Police, it is "an opportunity to showcase and enhance the department’s commitment to transparency while further strengthening the level of trust that exists between the men and women of the Boston Police Department and our community."

>> MORE: 'Small but meaningful benefits' lead to Boston expanding police body cam program

A report jointly released by researchers at Northeastern University and the City of Boston last year says the cameras yield "small but meaningful benefits" in encounters between residents and police.

The number of complaints against officers and use of excessive force complaints also dropped slightly.

As the BPD begins rolling out the program, 193 officers assigned to the South Boston and Dorchester districts as well as the Youth Violence Strike Force will be expected to wear the body cameras.

The department has chosen Axon as its official vendor.

The body cameras are intended to be used during:

• Traffic stops and investigative person stops
• All dispatched calls for service involving contact with civilians
• Initial responses by patrol officers, including on-site detentions, investigations pursuant to an arrest, arrests, and initial suspect interviews on-scene
• Transport of prisoners
• Pat frisks and searches of persons incident to arrest (if not already activated)
• During incidents of emergency driving and pursuit driving
• When an officer reasonably believes a crowd control incident may result in unlawful activity
• Any contact that becomes adversarial when the officer hasn't already activated the body camera or any other contact with a civilian or official duty the officer believes should be recorded to enhance policing transparency, increase public trust and police-community relations, or preserve factual representations of officer-civilian interactions.

>> PREVIOUS: Boston Police rolling out body camera program

While there will be specific circumstances around recording, officers will be given the discretion to turn on their cameras during any citizen contact or official duty. Boston Police also highlight that, in order to protect sensitive information, other people's privacy or due to confidentiality concerns, officers will also be given the discretion to turn off their cameras at any point in time.

Equipped officers have been ordered to wear cameras during their assigned tour of duty. As the program rolls out, during its early stages, not all uniformed officers will be wearing them due to camera battery life and roles of department personnel.

>> RELATED: Worcester Police launch 6-month body camera pilot program

Cox Media Group