QUINCY, Fla. (WTXL) — After years of waiting, the Quincy Police Department is getting some upgrades.
QPD rolled out their new body cameras a month ago in an effort to increase police accountability.
"The interactions that that officer has with the citizens will be captured on the body armed camera," said Captain Robert Mixson.
It's a common piece of technology for law enforcement and Quincy Police Department is getting their hands on the tech after years of trying to get the funding.
"That's something that we've been working on for a while," said Mayor Ronte Harris. "That's something we wanted to institute a long time ago."
Harris says the pandemic drained the budget and money set aside to fund the cameras. CARES act money from the city is helping fund the tech.
They say the ultimate goal is police accountabilty.
"They do cut down on liability, they do cut down on the question on what the officer did or didn't do," Harris said. "Also, it's a great use for evidence and crime scene preservation."
The department now has 26 body cameras that will cost them $15,000 a year.
Officers turn the camera on with a one-touch of the device before each encounter.
With an uptick in crime in the county since the pandemic began, the cameras are needed now more than ever.
"It gives a historical account of what was done during the interaction with that officer, with a citizen, or that officer on a crime scene," said Mixson.
Footage from the body camera is logged every day and will be used in annual evaluations of patrol officers.
