ALBUQUERQUE — Deputies with the Bernalillo County sheriff’s department are now equipped with body cameras.
Sheriff Manuel Gonzales unveiled on Friday the device that all 310 deputies will now be wearing after a newly approved state law requiring law enforcement to have body cameras.
“For the record, I didn’t invest in a camera. I invested in a digital evidence management system,” Gonzales said. “And that creates law enforcement trust and community relations.”
Bernalillo County, which includes Albuquerque, has agreed to a more than $3 million, five-year contract for the BodyWorn camera by Utility, Inc. The contract covers two cameras in each vehicle, Wi-Fi hot spots for the cruisers, uniform tailoring to hold the devices and a holster that will automatically activate the cameras when a gun is drawn.
The device can record videos, take photographs, upload content to the cloud, send alerts if a deputy is down and receive text messages or photos from dispatch, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Jason Dombkowski, BodyWorn director of law enforcement relations, said the vehicle sensors also activate the body-worn camera and in-car system, KOB-TV reported.
“It’s an encrypt system and that protects the evidence that we have and that actually builds a trust between us and the public because they know that technology, that video can’t be tampered with,” Gonzales said.
The sheriff’s office has also hired four more staff members to handle the devices and records requests.