Miami University in Oxford outfitted its police department with roughly $16,000 worth of body cameras. The university purchased 23 of them earlier this year.
“My sense is that if we’re talking two or three years from now, body cameras are going to be a standard piece of equipment,” MU Police Chief John McCandless said in February. “I don’t think they’re a phase. I think communities are going to demand that level of accountability from police.”
Other agencies around Ohio are also testing or purchasing the equipment.
Ohio State University police officers, for example, began piloting body cameras in September and the department expects more officers to be wearing them soon. University of Cincinnati also bought 80 body cameras last fall for patrol officers to use. The University of Dayton also uses them.
The Monroe Police Department hopes to pick out body camera equipment later this year, Lt. Brian Curlis said.
All 14 officers in Sugarcreek Twp. wear body cameras and have been using them since last year.
Oakwood police say they don’t have any immediate plans to use them, but technology is something that’s constantly discussed.
Bellbrook doesn’t currently use body cameras either, but they are field testing two different units right now and know body cameras will be a budget item next year. They expect to equip all their 14 officers and one detective sometime in 2016.
Check back for more updates on which police agencies in your area are looking at body cameras.