Bend police eye new eyes for new angle on crime

There’s the uniform, the badge, and soon another piece to pin in place — a new set of eyes, giving Bend police another angle on crime.

Chief Jim Porter said Thursday every officer will hopefully hit the streets wearing a body camera before the new year.

“Everyone behaves better when they’re being recorded,” Porter said.

Porter said the department has been testing different cameras for about a year now. However, only in recent months have national conversations about the cameras risen to new levels — sparked by the August police shooting and killing of unarmed teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

USA Today recently reported that the sale of body cameras skyrocketed after that shooting. One outfitter reported sales to law enforcement agencies have gone up about 70 percent.

Civil rights leaders have also called for the cameras an effort to promote transparency and combat police brutality.

But Porter says for Bend police, the technology is more about telling the truth and clearing up the bad reputation police sometimes get.

“We’ll use this as a tool to eliminate false complaints,” Porter said. “We’re hoping to really be able to eliminate those reports of officers using excessive force, reports of officers being rude — and also make citizens behave better.”

Porter added that last year, Bend police had more than 3,000 arrests or citations, but only about 50 involved the use of force.

Still, it’s also a way to keep employees accountable for actions.

“It’s also going to be a tool that if we have a problem with a specific officer, we’re able to address them in that manner,” Porter said.

Another big piece for the department is efficiency. Porter said capturing crimes on video will save the city overtime costs incurred when officers have to testify in court.

The new technology won’t be a cheap addition, however. Although Porter said the final costs are still being worked out, the department hopes to buy 48 cameras and is looking at models that range from $400 to $800 each.

Porter said that’s the price to capture the whole picture in an age when it’s so easy for anyone to press “record.”

“Everybody has a cellphone in their pocket now,” Porter said. “Why shouldn’t we have something a little better than a cellphone that produces better quality and tells the story from beginning to end?”

The story doesn’t end without questions about the privacy and security concerning an increasing number of Americans who worry about mass surveillance .

“Our officers are only going to activate the camera during contact,” Porter said. “It’s not going to run 24/7.”

From inside the department, the anticipation about the cameras is mixed, he noted.

“I have a group of officers who’ve said, ‘We should have had these years ago,'” Porter said. “Another group of officers can’t wait to get them out there. We have some officers who are a little bit concerned how they’ll be deployed.”

He said the officers aren’t worried they’ll be caught on film practicing bad conduct, but rather just uncomfortable with the idea of making video a part of the job.

“It’s just uncomfortable with some to think they’re going to be filmed,” Porter said. “This film can be slowed down. Their life can be hyper-scrutinized.”

The department is also developing systems and rules for storing the video footage. Porter said they’ll likely follow state guidelines suggesting that civil evidence be saved for about six months and criminal footage will be saved long-term.