The Arlington County Police Department have launched a test and evaluation of three Body Worn Camera (BWC) systems. Starting Monday, Aug. 29, 25 members of the Arlington County Police Department and Arlington County Sheriff’s Office were scheduled to be outfitted with BWC technology as they conduct their law enforcement duties and responsibilities. The purpose of the test and evaluation phase is to assess the effectiveness of each vendor’s equipment, determine the cost of a permanent BWC program and provide guidance on the development of a final BWC policy.
The policy details the contacts which require mandatory recording by the BWC technology. Recognizing privacy issues, storage capacity and the fact that every interaction does not merit the collection of video, the cameras will not be recording at all times.
The BWC technology will supplement in-car audio/video recorders already deployed in police vehicles.