Worcester Sets Police Body Camera Hearing Schedule

Worcester MA

13 July, 2021

8:53 AM

Description

WORCESTER, MA — As Worcester prepares to purchase body cameras for city police officers, the Human Rights Commission will host a series of public meetings about the devices in the coming months. Worcester police tested bodycams in 2019, but did not immediately make the program permanent. Last summer, District 1 City Councilor Sean Rose asked the city to have a bodycam program in place by January 2021. City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. has said the city is aiming to have bodycams in place no later than 2022. The cameras are part of a series of reforms he has proposed — including banning facial recognition technology and removing school resource officers — following last summer's protests over policing and racism. The body camera program could cost as much as $11 million over five years, according to estimates released by the department in 2020. Police body cameras are not widespread in Massachusetts, with only about a dozen departments using them. Worcester would follow Boston, Somerville and Springfield, plus smaller communities like West Brookfield and Sherborn, in using the devices. During the upcoming meetings, members of the public will be able to ask police and City Councilors questions about the cameras. Here's the schedule, according to the city manager's office: Aug. 23, 6 p.m., City Council District 5 at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) office , 242 Mill St. Zoom link here. Sept. 13, 6 p.m., City Council District 4 at Chandler Elementary Community School, 114 Chandler St. Zoom link here.Sept. 27, 6 p.m., City Council District 3, Worcester Senior Center, 128 Providence St. Zoom link here.Oct. 4, 6 p.m., City Council District 2, St Bernard's Church, 228 Lincoln St. Zoom link here.Oct. 18, 6 p.m., City Council District 1, Massachusetts league of Community Health Centers, Inc., 16 Brooks St. Zoom link here.