FLAGLER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE BODY WORN CAMERA PROGRAM EXPANSION

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office believes in a community-oriented guardianship policing approach
to law enforcement and strives to address the quality of life and crime concerns of its diverse and
quickly growing population of 115,378 Flagler County citizens. As an early adopter of BWCs in 2013,
the agency deployed BWCs within its Community Policing Division. After a decade of successful
implementation, FCSO has identified additional need for BWCs within its Court and Detention
Services Division and Investigative Services Division. The agency now seeks to expand its established
and successful BWC program among sworn law enforcement officers in these areas with the purpose
of increasing officer safety, supporting evidentiary effectiveness, and promoting agency transparency
and accountability.
Project activities include a review of current Mobile Video Recorder (MVR-BWC) General Order and
policies to ensure compliance with applicable laws and best practice, development of community
education on the agency use of MVR-BWCs, procurement and deployment of additional BWCs within
the Court and Detention Services Division and Investigative Services Division, and review of MVRBWC
audit data to identify and evaluate project performance measures on the FCSO BWC expansion
program’s project goals and objectives.
Successful implementation of the Sheriff’s Office BWC expansion program is expected to
produce positive outcomes by promoting transparency and accountability in law enforcement officer
interactions with the public, leading to improved law enforcement and community stakeholder
partnerships along with a decrease in community complaints resulting in an internal inquiry or higher; increased access to critical evidentiary support with the deployment of added BWC operators in
additional settings; improved officer safety with broader live streaming capabilities, expediting the
assessment for and dispatch of required support; and enhanced internal training development and
training opportunities for agency MVR-BWC operators. Prior implementation of BWCs by FCSO
suggests BWCs in conjunction with a comprehensive use of force policy can have a compelling effect
on use of force data and documentation, as evidenced by the agency’s proven record of using deescalation
techniques and its low number of use of force incidents.