Body cameras bring big cost

Posted on April 21, 2016
Jason Chambers
Chambers says the cost of storing the video can be sky high.(WJBC file photo)

By Terry James

BLOOMINGTON – Police body cameras are latest thing in law enforcement.

They are still in the testing phase in the Bloomington Police Department. All eight officers in Leroy already use the body cameras.

McLean County State’s Attorney Jason Chambers said the video helps in investigations, but they don’t tell the whole story.

“Video doesn’t always show the whole story,” said Chambers. “It needs to be something that everyone needs to be cognizant of, prosecutors need to be cognizant of it, officers do, the public does, jurors need to be cognizant of he fact that video is one piece of everything that we look at.”

Chambers worries about the cost of storing the video. He says many departments buy the cameras and can be shocked at the total investment needed to save the high definition video.

Terry James can be reached at [email protected].

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