Two lawmakers in Virginia – Senator Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) and Delegate Michael Futrell (D-Woodbridge) – spoke at the General Assembly in Richmond last week about House Bill 2393.
The proposed bill could lead to the requirement for some police officers to wear body cameras.
Chief Douglas Keen of the Manassas City Police Department agreed that practices that can improve the relationship between police and the community bear “serious thought,” but he has concerns about the cost and oversight of implementation.
“…the cost to purchase and maintain the program is much more expensive than simply purchasing the cameras themselves. Is the state going to pay for the equipment and personnel to operate the program?” Keen asked.
Keen expressed concerns about the additional personnel needed to monitor the video, and a police department potentially being overwhelmed with FOIA requests for video footage, as well as privacy for citizens.
“Citizens and officers should be granted the opportunity to hold private conversations in order to afford citizens an opportunity to disclose or report a crime without fear of having their privacy compromised,” said Keen.
Futrell is sponsoring the bill. He feels that the legislation will help promote transparency between the police departments and the community.
“While law enforcement looks to identify ways to better serve the towns and counties of our great commonwealth, communities are calling for an increase in transparency and collaboration,” said Futrell at a press conference.
The bill would not mandate that all police departments across the board be required to wear body cameras.
Instead, it would hand oversight to the Attorney General’s office, where they would look at data about police departments in the commonwealth and mandate the cameras in police departments where profiling and excessive force have been a frequent occurrence.
When asked about paying for the body cameras, Futrell stated that the cost could be covered by forfeitures.
Recently President Barack Obama proposed a program in line with House Bill 2393, where federal funds would offer a 50 percent match in the cost of purchasing body cameras for state and local police departments.
On Jan. 28, the bill was assigned to a House Militia, Police and Public Safety sub-committee in the General Assembly.
VCU Capital News Service contributed to this report.
