Durham County Sheriff’s Office buys body and dash cameras for officers and vehicles
Durham County deputies now have body cameras, the Durham County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday.
A total of 178 body-worn cameras will now let deputies record their interactions with people being arrested, victims of crime, witnesses and others.
“I am confident these devices will strengthen our accountability and transparency to the public, will aid in the de-escalation of conflicts, and subsequently, will add another tool necessary for the successful investigation of crime in our communities,” Sheriff Clarence Birkhead said in a news release.
A January 2022 report from the National Institute of Justice shows nearly half of the nation’s sheriff’s offices and 80% of its large police forces use body cameras.
The Durham County Sheriff’s Office began distributing them late last month to test the new technology, which also includes 102 dash cameras being added to the department’s vehicles.
“When a deputy activates their blue lights or exceeds 85 miles per hour, both the body-worn camera and the dash camera will automatically turn on and will not stop recording until it is turned off,” wrote Vincent Ritter, the information technology director for the Sheriff’s Office.
The purchase of the cameras was included in Durham County’s 2020-29 Capital Improvement Plan in the amount of $1.1 million.
A second phase of the project later this year will put dash cameras in more vehicles and body-worn cameras in the jail.
No body camera video in fatal shooting
Friday’s announcement comes nearly two months after the death of Stephanie Wilson, 28, who was fatally shot by deputies responding to a reported break-in in northern Durham County in January. The Sheriff’s Office has said she failed to put a shotgun down.
There is no body camera footage documenting the shooting. The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident, which is standard procedure, and will report its findings to the Durham County District Attorney’s Office.
The shooting was one of four fatal shootings by law enforcement officers in the Triangle in January.