June 17, 2016
Ask yourself what your department would do if this happened? Was this the improper action of a poorly trained officer? Is this the culture of all patrol officers? Was it an honest mistake? Is department policy clear in this area? Regardless of the answer, departments must have a plan in place to address such shortcomings. The camera will capture much of what officers do on a daily basis in excrutiating detail . Departments now “own” these shortcomings in a way that was not previously conceivable. When events like this occur the department must act swiftly to identify whether this was an isolated incident or a larger problem and then fix it! This can be easier said than done in larger departments. When planning for body-worn camera deployments do not forget to consider how you will address such incidents. Consider modifying a risk management feedback loop process for your agency’s operations. No department can afford to have repeated shortcomings occur and be perceived as not acting to correct them.
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