By Joe Bachman
Editor

STEVENS POINT — Members  of the Police and Fire Commission were presented with the ongoing process of adding body cameras to the department on Tuesday afternoon.

Assistant Police Chief Mike Rottier led a presentation on how body cameras are currently being used by local officers, with the ultimate goal of equipping all officers with body cams by the end of the year.

“I think it cleans things up — it makes us more professional and accountable,” said Rottier during his presentation. “People want them. People from other agencies that have had them for years before we had them and thought it was a great idea.”

With the addition of new squad cars, the body cameras link with the dash cam of patrol cars. As soon as emergency lights are activated in a vehicle, the body camera is turned on. The video footage from these cameras are stored for 120 days, unless needed as evidence for a court case. They record up to eight hours at a time, and have an approximate lifespan of 6-8 years.

“This is where law enforcement’s going — being transparent, and being able to say what the facts are — the video speaks volumes, and I think that’s one of the good reasons why we have body cams.” said Rottier.