Miami, FL - The largest police agency in Florida is outfitting 1,000 of its officers with pager-sized body cameras over the next few months in the state’s biggest such deployment to date, officials announced Thursday.
The Miami-Dade Police Department detailed a $5.5 million plan to begin using the cameras next week, with a goal of 1,000 in the field by the end of September. About $1 million of that comes from a $75 million federal grant program announced in 2014 by President Barack Obama.
Police body cameras have become increasingly popular following a number of fatal shootings or other deaths involving police around the country in places such as Ferguson, Missouri; Cleveland and Baltimore. Authorities say the cameras will record entire incidents from start to finish, will cut down on frivolous complaints against officers and also make police more accountable for their actions.
Last year, a University of South Florida study found that use-of-force incidents fell by 53 percent from year to year among a select group of 46 Orlando police officers outfitted with cameras. Civilian complaints against them fell by 65 percent.... Read More: VIN