Mecklenburg County Detention Center-Central Body-worn Camera Expansion Project

The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) is constantly searching for new and progressive
ways to move law enforcement forward to benefit the community, detention center residents, and
officers. MCSO proposes implementing BWCs in a correctional setting by issuing 85 BWCs to
detention officers assigned to each of the 40 housing units within Mecklenburg County Detention
Center-Central (MCDCC). The proposed initiative aims to increase officer and detention center
resident safety and promote increased transparency, accountability, and officer training.
Project activities include engaging officers, stakeholders, and the community for feedback to gain
broad support for the program, as well as developing project implementation and communication plans
that will define and direct project activities. Before procurement, the MCSO will evaluate vendors to
ensure compatibility within a detention setting. The agency will enhance existing BWC policies and
procedures to align with detention operations, as well as work with the MCSO Training Academy and
the project TTA provider to prepare and build practical training modules and enhance existing training.
Expected outcomes of this proposal include increased safety for detention center residents and officers
by decreasing the number of uses of force incidents and complaints. The agency also looks to enhance
the adjudication of internal investigations and legal cases by utilizing BWC footage. BWC footage will
improve pre- and post-academy officer training, providing post-event learning opportunities and
enhancing de-escalation training. The proposed initiative also seeks to strengthen officer performance
and detention center resident behavior by promoting transparency and accountability.
The proposed initiative will directly benefit the detention officers and detention center residents they
serve, providing a safer community for the citizens of Mecklenburg County and surrounding areas.
Studies have shown that the presence of BWCs increases professionalism and reduces resident
complaints because both parties know they are being recorded and are accountable for their actions,
causing those near BWCs to think before they react. The proposed initiative strives to increase law
enforcement-community relations by providing the community with additional education on the role of
the detention officer and promoting transparency and accountability.