Philly Police Testing Wearable Cameras

Las Vegas police Sgt. Peter Ferranti models a body camera Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014, in Las Vegas. The camera is the same type now being used by about 200 street officers in Las Vegas. Philly has started testing body cameras. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Philly Police have begun a pilot program to test wearable body cameras on officers, Newsworks reports:

The pilot program has been in the works since the summer, when the Pennsylvania Legislature first authorized the use of wearable cameras. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsay called them “long overdue,” despite the costs.

“The technology is there and we need to take advantage of the technology,” Ramsey told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Andy Hoover of the Pennsylvania ACLU said that the cameras raise plenty of privacy issues, but that,  by and large, they’re manageable. And when properly handled, Hoover said, the cameras benefit police and citizens, acting like “another set of eyes” that can provide accountability and encourage everyone to play it cool in tense situations.

In one highly publicized study, a California police force saw public complaints against officers decline by 88 percent, and use of force dropped 60 percent. Body cameras have increasingly been mentioned as a solution in the wake of the Michael Brown shooting that sparked this week’s protests in Ferguson, Mo., and across the country.

Previously: Ramsey Makes Right Call on Body Cameras. But …