Cameras a valuable tool, not a panacea

There’s a bitter irony that not two weeks after the shooting death of Arlington teenager Christian Taylor by a police officer, the city of Arlington announced its plan to implement a pilot program for the use of police body cameras.

Arlington’s plan isn’t reactionary. It’s been in the works for some time.

The six-month trial effort will cost the city $50,000 and will allow officers to test different types of devices to determine which models best serve the department’s needs.

The pilot plan, announced Tuesday, has left some residents disgruntled, demanding that officers be equipped with the devices immediately.

But Police Chief Will Johnson says buying the right equipment is important.

Outfitting the force would cost some $2 million. Even if done over several years, which would likely be the case, purchasing the cameras is no small investment.

It’s one worth making, and Arlington should waste as little time as possible in the process.

Arlington isn’t far behind its sister cities in taking steps to outfit law enforcement with cameras.

Fort Worth approved the purchase of 400 additional cameras for its police force last year. In May, Dallas approved a $3.7 million body camera program to purchase 1,000 of the devices over the next five years.

Momentum for cameras has increased across the nation in recent months, largely in response to the recent deaths of several unarmed males at the hands of police officers.

These headline-grabbing incidents have catalyzed efforts to hold law enforcement officers accountable by creating a record of their interactions with the public.

And body camera programs in other cities have yielded positive results, including reductions in complaints against officers and increased trust between the community and law enforcement.

Arlington is right to begin the process of purchasing the cameras and establishing policies and procedures to accompany the storage and use of video footage.

But residents and police must also keep in mind that body cameras are not a panacea.

The hard work of building trust between law enforcement and communities doesn’t begin and end with recording devices.

This story was originally published August 19, 2015 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Cameras a valuable tool, not a panacea."