Georgia Southern University police officers are wearing body cameras while on duty, the first law enforcement agency to do so in Bulloch County.
Statesboro Police plan to follow suit, with body cameras included in the current fiscal year’s budget, while Bulloch County Sheriff’s deputies will use body cameras only in specific situations. Georgia State Patrol officials body cameras are not part of their state-approved budget.
“Georgia Southern’s Office of Public Safety is the first public safety force in Bulloch County to incorporate body cameras and in-car recording systems into the daily work of its officers,” said Jennifer Wise, director of communications with the university’s Office of Marketing & Communications.
Each of the department’s 34 patrol officers are equipped with body cameras and four marked patrol cars have had video equipment installed, she said.
“The university administration recognized the need for the cameras and video recording system as part of the Office of Public Safety’s commitment to transparency about the conduct of the officers with the community,” she said in a statement. “Georgia Southern’s police department is among a growing number of police departments on college and university campuses that are using video technology during routine and critical calls for service.”
 The equipment helps to ensure accuracy and accountability, expedite resolution of complaints and provide opportunities for officer training, she said. Also, “the availability of visual evidence through the use of the technology will provide additional protection for both the community and officers. The cameras and recording system are tamper-proof and video cannot be altered or deleted.”

City of Statesboro
Statesboro city council members recently approved funding body cameras. The city budget includes $42,063 to buy body-worn video cameras for use by all police department patrol officers, said Statesboro Public Safety Director Wendell Turner in an earlier interview with the Statesboro Herald.
"We've been looking at this about two years," he said. 
There is no specific time frame set yet for when Statesboro police will buy the cameras.

Bulloch County
Budget constraints have the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Department in a different situation, said Chief Deputy Jared Akins. The expense of the cameras, paired with a heavy expense of storing data, is daunting, especially when more deputy positions are needed to handle a growing county population, he said.
“We have tested different models and currently use them for T.A.C. team operations which involve high risk search warrants, barricaded suspects, et cetera,” he said. “As for patrol deputies, we currently do not issue them for use but do have in-car cameras installed in all patrol vehicles.
“At present we do not have any specific time frame for fielding body cameras for patrol,” Akins said. “Money is the greatest obstacle, as an agency must not only consider the purchase of the cameras themselves but also the well documented costs of storage.”

Georgia State Patrol
Sgt. Brad Mosher, commander of Statesboro’s Georgia State Patrol Post 45, said troopers do not currently use body cameras, and said he is unsure of the state agency’s stance in the matter.
“The state budgeting takes pace during the legislative session (this spring),” he said.
Other than budgeted funding, the state agency could possibly get funding for the cameras through donations by county government or by using drug forfeiture seizure money, he said, adding that there has been no local discussion regarding the use of body cameras.
The City of Statesboro is considering a new camera marketed by WatchGuard, which makes the dash cameras in use in Statesboro police patrol cars, Turner said. However, the city hasn’t purchased the cameras and are still considering others, he said.

Using body cameras
In the meantime, GSU police are getting used to the body cameras.
“The addition of in-car and body camera equipment is something our department has been working toward for some time, said GSU Interim Police Chief Laura McCullough. “We recognized a couple of years ago the advantages of having video cameras for both the benefit of community and law enforcement officers. With current events and the social climate as it is today, it is even more important that we do all we can to continue to be as open and transparent as possible.”
After extensive research, GSU “used end-of-year funds to purchase equipment manufactured by Watchguard Video to cover the needs of all patrol officers and cars and to purchase the video storage system,” Wise said. “The department also has applied for grant funding from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to purchase additional equipment.”
Video evidence of incidents captured by the body cameras will be downloaded at the end of each shift and stored on a secure storage system, she said. ”Videos are saved for 90 days and then deleted unless they are needed for a case, at which time a copy will be made and submitted for evidence.” Under Georgia law, video recorded by law enforcement is not considered public record, she said.
If Statesboro police decide on using the same system as GSU, images from the body cameras would download wirelessly to the in-car systems in some, but not all, of the department's cars, Turner said.

Budget constraints
The Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office isn’t opposed to using body cameras, but budget constraints must be considered, Akins said.
“Our budget request last year included eight patrol deputies which would have brought Patrol up to the last recommended staffing level from 2002.  We received funding for four deputies over a two year period, leaving us well short of our recommended levels.  Until the staffing shortage is improved, our focus is on adding more deputies to better protect all of Bulloch County's citizens,” he said.
The expense of the cameras and storage space is therefore an unmet need, at least for this budget year, he said. “We also expect to see court decisions in future which may clarify how body cameras and the footage they produce are to be stored, handled, and made available.”

Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.Herald reporter Al Hackle contributed to this article.