“It only makes sense”: Carbondale Police Department implements body worn cameras
CARBONDALE, Ill. (KBSI) – Beginning Thursday, Carbondale Police Department Deputy Chief Anthony Williams and the rest of the department now have to deploy body worn cameras whenever responding to calls or having contact with the public.
Williams said he and other officers are excited about these new cameras.
“It only makes sense,” he said. “To be able to tell the whole story is so important, so certainly a lot of our officers are very glad to have it, and I’m included in that,” Williams said. “It just makes it very easy to go back and look and see what really happened.”
Williams says this technology…
“Builds trust between us and the community because there’s nothing in this transaction between you and I that’s not going to be recorded.”
This project has been in the works for about a year, and Police Chief Stan Reno said the cameras will only confirm the jobs that the officers do on a daily basis.
“For the officers, it’s an opportunity for them to have that reflection of the great work they do every day,” he said. “Any time their work gets called into question, they’re anxious and more than willing to show the true story of what took place.”
Reno said the department is well ahead of the state’s mandate for this technology.
“We’re proud to say that we’re almost a year and a half ahead of that mandate and working to make sure that we are as transparent as we can be and working with the public for accountability and to make our services that much better.”
