Members of the Rialto Police Department have been wearing cameras on their uniforms for over a year in an effort to study methods that could potentially cut back on the number of citizen complaints. Rialto Police Chief Tony Farrar, the author of the study, seeks to more fully implement the practice of evidence-based policing.
The experiment is seen as an innovative approach to a problem that faces law enforcement across the board. It was recognized last month at the Society of Evidence-Based Policing international conference held at the University of Cambridge in England.
Farrar indicated that accusations of police misconduct and the potential for lawsuits levied against the city are reduced with the use of the camera.
Farrar points out that maintaining the public trust is a key tenant of good policing and affixing cameras to police uniforms is a method by which the department can regain public trust.
The cameras were funded by grants provided by the U.S. Department of Justice.
To find out more about the program, read the full article at the San Bernardino Sun.