Trending Topics

Ill. sheriff’s dept. prepares to test body-worn cameras in jail

Knox County Sheriff’s Department will be running a 30-day trial with Digital Ally brand body cameras

By C1 Staff

GALESBURG, Ill. — One Illinois sheriff is putting body cameras on his jail staff in a test run to see how implementing them would affect day-to-day operations.

The Register-Mail reports that the Knox County Sheriff’s Department will be running a 30-day trial with Digital Ally brand body cameras.

This is a first step toward testing the cameras on the local police officers; as state law stands, body cameras are in violation of the Illinois eavesdropping law.

The trial run won’t cost the department any money, but after the test period, costs would also come under consideration. One camera costs $800.

And that’s only hardware – staff time required to manage recordings and respond to Freedom of Information Act requests plus storage could run as much as $40,000.

The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board offers grants for cameras build into squad cars; it’s believed that grants for body cameras could be in the near future.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU