Sheriff Sniff puts body camera policy in place
Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff has formally implemented a policy on the use of body-worn cameras for deputies, it was announced Thursday.
The cameras have been approved for department-wide use under conditions that the sheriff’s executive staff and the deputies’ union worked out, said Assistant Sheriff Ray Gregory.
“This cooperative effort resulted in a final product that provides the proper balance of discretion, accountability, safety, transparency and privacy, while reasonably protecting employee rights and preserving as evidence the critical viewpoint of (deputies) as they interact with others in the course of their duties,” Gregory said.
The policy provides guidance on both the use of departmentally issued cameras and “personally owned video devices” that some deputies have carried in the field for years, Gregory said.
“The use of body-worn cameras has proven to be an effective tool for law enforcement that benefits both the public and law enforcement personnel,” the assistant sheriff said. Sniff said in July cameras can be a major boon when attempting to sort out “critical incidents” and bolster “credibility” from the public’s perspective.
In March 2015, Sniff initiated a program to test the effectiveness of body-worn cameras, deploying the shirt-mounted devices with deputies in Jurupa Valley. Sniff told the Board of Supervisors prior to the deployment that body cams had been in use by personnel for some time, but not under a uniform
policy.
The Riverside Sheriffs’ Association initially challenged the field testing but later backed off.
The sheriff’s department acquired 165 body cams from Seattle-based Vie Vu in November 2014 at a cost of $184,000. However, further purchases are on hold until a funding source can be identified. The sheriff’s budget is more than $30 million in the red.
