Supervisors approve police body cameras

Fairfax County Police Department will use these body cameras.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 24 approved full implementation of body-worn cameras for the police department.

The program is expected to begin next May with the Mason, Reston, and Mount Vernon police stations. Those stations participated in a pilot program in 2018.

A complete rollout – consisting of 1,210 cameras issued countywide and 34 new positions – will take three years. 

One-time funding of $4.3 million is included in the fiscal year 2020 budget. That will cover 416 cameras and a total of 13 new positions, including 13 for the police department, eight in the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney, and two for the Department of Information Technology.

Additional funding of $5.5 million would be required for FY 2021 and $1.1 million for FY 2022.

Body-worn cameras will “build and sustain trust between the community and police and enhance our legitimacy,” the FCPD states, while also enhancing transparency and accountability.