Last November the NLCRPD became the first suburban police agency in Lancaster County to utilize body worn cameras (BWC) by agency members. In the year since inception of this program the NLCRPD has experienced many advantages as a result of the utilization of the BWC. The primary outcomes expected by use of the BWC included the following:

1. Provide compelling evidence in criminal prosecutions
2. Promote accountability and transparency about the NLCRPD and their officers’ work, thereby enhancing community relations
3. Improve both citizen and officer conduct when they know their behavior is recorded
4. Assess complaints about officer misconduct
5. Allow the NLCRPD to monitor the work of their officers, both for training purposes and personnel review

Suffice it to say these expectations were exceeded in many ways. When the NLCRPD began the program, the atmosphere surrounding law enforcement was much different than today. One of the most effective tools used to maintain the NLCRPD public trust and accountability was the BWC. This included use of NLCRPD BWC resources in the past several months in those venues where protests were underway and home agency officers were not equipped with BWC devices. The pairing of the NLCRPD officers with BWC(s) allowed for remote viewing of the situation by command staff and advisory team members to promote safety and event management. This is just one example of how the NLCRPD officers have displayed resourcefulness and imagination in the use of the BWC. Since inception over twelve thousand utilizations and capture of police / citizen interactions have occurred. The retention and expungement of these captures have been maintained by the NLCRPD in accordance with statute and agency policy.

In the NLCRPD program structure the BWC is linked directly to other system components including the mobile video recorders MVR) commonly referred to as in car camera systems and agency deployed smart weapon systems. A smart weapon systems includes sensor in the officer’s holster that activates all camera systems and monitoring systems within a specified radius of the sensor. This provides for an immediate logging of the meta-data and audio/video recording of events surrounding the incident. This includes all the data related to the application of any conductive energy device (CED) better known as a Taser™. The NLCRPD also captures interviews conducted by the criminal investigations’ unit , and all activity within the Live scan Booking and detention blocks of the NLCRPD Headquarters facility.

The NLCRPD actively utilizes the lessons learned from viewing of the recordings to enhance the agency training function. One of the largest takeaways from review of the recordings is the overriding professionalism, compassion, and kindness extended to the community by the NLCRPD in this wide array of interactions including domestic disputes, stabbings, suicides, mental health and other police related activities. To understand more about this topic the NLCRPD BWC policy directive is included within the dropdown tab at nlcrpd.org labeled "Policy".