(1/17) The Carroll Valley Borough Police Department will be incorporating body cameras for police officers for the first time as part of a video-audio upgrade of their in-car camera systems.

The borough approved the associated expense of upgrading the in-car video camera system, which includes the new body cameras, in their 2020 budget.

Borough Police Chief Richard Hileman, told the News-Journal that the upgrade is being provided basically for free from the current in-car video system's provider, Digital Ally, Inc.

“The provider of the in-car video offered an option to replace the in-car video,” or continue to use the older, existing in-car system, Hileman said. But if the department opted for upgrading, “the body cams would be included in the upgrade free.” He said the free upgrade with the body cameras included would likely represent an eight to nine-thousand-dollar savings if purchased otherwise.” The upgrade will be provided for two of the existing police squad cars.

The use of police body cameras basically got off to a rocky start in the grand scheme of things, raising concerns among some regarding issues relating to privacy and misuse.

Paul Davis, writing for The Washington Times in 2018, stated in an article titled Debunking false claims against the police, “Given that police now operate in a world in which anyone with a cell phone can record video footage of a police encounter, body-worn cameras help police departments ensure events are also captured from an officer’s perspective.”

As far as the department's prior experience with body cameras, “We tested one out to get a look at it four or five years ago, but at the time the law in Pennsylvania hadn't caught up with the police use of the body cam. The times have changed regarding the expectation of privacy (which had been among the initial concerns). Today, they (the public) don't expect to not be recorded.”

Hileman said the borough police began using in-car video cameras around 1992, and presently have the four patrol cars and the four-wheel vehicle equipped with the in-car systems. In addition, “We had a little remote mike on the (uniform) belt which transmitted the audio back to the camera system in the car, in addition to mikes inside the car.”

However, with in-car cameras, the view is limited, since the cameras generally remain fixed on the dash, pointed out the front windshield, although the angle of the cameras can be manually changed.

Data generated by the upgraded video systems will be stored “in the cloud” at an on-line government video-secure server. That storage capacity will cost $470 per quarter.

The first of the two police cars to be equipped with the new upgrade, including the body camera, is expected to be in service by the end of January, the chief stated.