Patrol deputies with the Hall County Sheriff's Office will soon be utilizing new body cameras and Tasers, officials announced this week.
Axon will provide 125 cameras and Tasers at a cost of $163,422, money budgeted with approval by the Hall County Commission, for deputies on patrol or serving arrest warrants, said Derreck Booth, Hall County Sheriff's Office spokesman.
One issue, according to Brad Rounds, Capt. of the Uniform Patrol Division, that officials had to overcome was storage of the video, which will be stored remotely in cloud-based servers.
“That’s where the big cost was coming from in the beginning. Everyone had these body cameras and they’d download everything they did that day, and the storage would just get taken up so quickly. Departments had to go out and buy so much more storage. It was eating up everyone’s budget,” said Rounds in a statement.
Axon provides unlimited storage, and its program also includes spare devices, software, training and extra Taser cartridges.
The Taser and body cameras are linked, Booth said; whenever a deputy removes the Taser from its holster, the camera automatically starts recording.
While most residents think of body cameras as a way to catch law-breaking officers in the act — a legitimate use, to be sure — the cameras also serve as evidence to back up an officer who is following the rules, should a citizen file a complaint.
"This often prevents or resolves unfounded complaints on officers. When cameras are rolling there tends to be an impact on both officers and citizens. The final result is that actions and words, both positive and negative, will be recorded for all to see," said Booth.
18 officers had already been utilizing the tools since early 2018, testing out the equipment before the final purchase.
