Boston Police Order Body Cameras, Unclear If Program Will Start On Time
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Police Department has ordered 100 sets of body cameras and docking stations--but it remains to be seen whether or not the program will start on time.
The department had hoped to start the program, which depends on officers volunteering to wear the cameras, by September 1.
The cameras should arrive in the next several weeks. Then, it's a matter of getting them out on the streets.
"There's no rule book that says 'this is the body camera plan.' This is all new technology to policing," said Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. "We're trying to make sure when we do it, we do it right."
Walsh says there is a benefit to the officers for wearing the cameras.
"I don't think there's a need to be nervous about wearing them," Walsh said. "I think at the end of the day, it potentially helps you with an interaction with somebody who may be very vocal against a police officer, it actually benefits the police officer, I think, as much as it benefits the community."
Last Thursday, the public and community activists weighed in at the first public meeting held on the body camera program.
At that meeting, in response to frustrations about how long it has taken to implement the program, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said he wanted to take the time to "get it right."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports
