Suffolk County police to wear body cameras as part of police reform plan
LONG ISLAND - Police officers from the Suffolk County Police Department will soon begin wearing body cameras, after the county and Police Benevolent Association reached an agreement to allow transparency and more civilian oversight of the department.
County Executive Steve Bellone called the plan the most "comprehensive suburban police reform" in the nation.
"This plan will help ensure that our communities have trust in those sworn to protect them, and that policing is done in an equitable and just manner," Bellone said.
It took a reform task force of 37 people, including law enforcement officials, union leaders, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, civil rights advocates, and faith leaders months to iron out all the disagreements.
"We wanted to make sure certain privacy issues wouldn’t cross the line on, and there’s certain issues where we want to make sure that if there was going to be a disciplinary issue how that would be addressed, so you really have to have all the all that agreed to upfront before you put the camera on somebody," said Suffolk County PBA President Noel DiGerolamo.
Each officer who wears a body camera will relieve a $3,000 stipend which Bellone says will be phased in over a two-year period.
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Meanwhile, the plan also calls for an overhaul of the police department's mental health crisis response, using a three-tier approach including 911 calls diversion, working with mental health partners, and the expansion of crisis intervention training.
Right now 20% of the patrol officers are trained in crisis intervention.
Another component of the reform is enhancing oversight of the department. Starting in January, the human rights commission will be equipped to receive all complaints regarding police misconduct. Three new human rights investigators are in the process of being hired.
The plan is expected to be implemented at the beginning of 2022. Suffolk County officials told FOX 5 NY that they will be starting talks with the Detectives and Superior Officers' unions, who have yet to agree to the use of body cameras.
The goal is to get all 2,400 officers in the department wearing body cameras by 2022.