Officers from the Rockville City Police Department (RCPD) will begin using body-worn cameras under a new initiative, being developed this fall, that will continue the department’s commitment to transparency and offer a new level of accountability for officers and the public.
The cameras produce a video record of incidents and have proven to be a valuable accountability tool for law enforcement, providing support for officer testimony during criminal trials and evidence for investigating claims of officer misconduct.
The cameras were approved by the Mayor and Council as part of the Fiscal Year 2017 budget. Final approval of their purchase is tentatively scheduled as part of the Mayor and Council’s consent agenda for Monday, Nov. 14. Find more information when the Nov. 14 agenda is posted at www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter.
The 59 body-worn cameras – one for each RCPD officer – will be synchronized with in-car systems, providing seamless integration of the two camera systems.
The body-worn cameras are an extension of the department’s use of dashboard cameras, which have been used in RCPD cruisers for over two decades.
RCPD’s adoption of the cameras is in line with a trend by national and local law enforcement agencies, including Montgomery County Police and the Maryland-National Capital Park Police. The department has monitored the implementation of body-worn camera policies nationally and by local partner agencies. RCPD is taking care to draft policies that take into account privacy and other civil liberties issues raised by the use of the cameras.
Learn more about the RCPD at www.rockvillemd.gov/police.