IDOC - Body-Worn Cameras

The Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC), the State of Indiana’s executive branch agency
charged with accepting committed persons for custody, care, training, and reintegration, is seeking to
establish a comprehensive BWC program for all IDOC facilities. IDOC supervises and serves a
population of approximately 23,000 adult incarcerated individuals and 300 juveniles and employs
more than 5,500 state employees and 1,300 contract employees in 21 facilities around the state.
Additionally, IDOC also operates Indiana’s parole services, supervising more than 6,000 parolees
statewide.
Article 1, Section 18 of the Indiana Constitution requires that the state’s penal code shall be founded
on the principles of reformation, and not of vindictive justice. To that end, Indiana has worked to
remain a national leader in the delivery of correctional services, dating to its participation in the first
meeting of the American Correctional Association in 1870, an organization through which IDOC
maintains accreditations for all its adult and juvenile facilities and parole services branches as well as
its training institute, and central office. The implementation of a comprehensive BWC program will
enable IDOC to continue performing as a model of best correctional practices, inspiring a culture of
accountability, integrity, and professionalism.
IDOC’s goal is to equip custody staff in all its facilities with BWCs. In the past two years, IDOC has
made tangible progress in laying the foundation for whole-agency program implementation, including
the adoption of a BWC policy and operation of a pilot program at one of its adult facilities. IDOC staff
has also collaborated with other states’ correctional agencies that have implemented BWC programs to
help identify best practices for its own program.