Sheriff’s Office uses body worn cameras to fight crime

Imperial County Sheriff’s Office said they have a new ally in their fight against crime – it may be small but it’s powerful – body worn cameras.

ICSO Sergeant Rene McNish said, “Every deputy in imperial county that’s on patrol doing any type of patrol operations, they are wearing body cams as we speak.”

One hundred body cams at a cost of $74,770, from a state grant.

Taser International Manager Douglas Dirren said, “At the beginning of their shift, they’ll power up the camera, and then their policy tells them it stays powered on, but they by pushing the button actually start a recording. And when they’re done, based on their policy, that’s when they stop the recording.”

Officials said it’s not just to chase after criminals or for traffic stops, but it’s an effective tool to collect evidence anywhere.

“They can take the camera into the home and talk to people about some of these most traumatic incidents that have ever occurred in their lives. And they’re going to talk to them about it not only inside their home but also in their bedroom,” McNish said.

Video content will be kept safe in a cloud storage system.

“The number one priority is confidentiality,” McNish said.

Officials said it’s just one more tool to serve the community.

“The main reason why we even decided to use body worn cameras is because we want to demonstrate to the community that transparency is our number one goal,” McNish said.