Hanford police officers getting body cams

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- Officers in one Kings County town are taking policing into the technology age.

All 42 of Hanford's police officers will be equipped with a small camera that will record nearly every traffic stop and call. Officials here say the cameras help keep officers, and the people they meet, safe.

Sgt. Stephanie Huddleston with the Hanford Police Department is still getting used to the camera she now wears on her shoulder. The video recording device acts like another set of eyes when she's responding to a crime.

"I feel like it's going to probably cut down on officer complaints," said Sgt. Huddleston. "When people come in and they have an issue. We can look at the video and see exactly what happened on that call or traffic stop."

Interim Chief Parker Sever says cameras will now be crucial when settling disputes or determining what happened at a call.

The camera isn't always rolling. When responding to a scene -- the officer will press a record button. The video that's recorded includes 30 seconds before the officer started recording. This helps make sure the crime itself isn't missed, which is exactly what happened at a recent traffic stop.

Interim Chief Sever said, "When he walked up to the car and realized oh I've got a camera and he turned it on and when he went back to the station and viewed the recording he actually caught a picture of the vehicle running the stop light."

Officers aren't able to edit the videos, or access other officers' videos. At the end of their shifts, the cameras are charged on a docking station. And the videos are automatically uploaded to a storage device. One officer recently told Interim Chief Sever, he feels safer with the camera on him.

Interim Chief Sever explained, "He goes 'I feel like somebody has my back and I find myself thinking about what I say before I say it.' and that's exactly what we want."

Sgt. Huddleston said, "Even just details that maybe aren't described thoroughly in a report, that will be easier viewed through a video."

The cameras cost about $50,000 to purchase.

Hanford Police Department is the first agency in Kings County to use the devices.