Enhancing Accountability Through the Expansion of NYC Department of Correction’s Body-Worn Camera Program

The New York City Department of Correction (DOC) is applying for the BJA FY24 Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Policy and Implementation Program to Support Law Enforcement Agencies under Category 1: Site Based Awards to Law Enforcement Agencies. This project will expand and enhance DOC’s current BWC program to provide all uniformed members of services (UMOS) with individual BWCs. Currently, the Department has limited BWC deployment as selected UMOS assigned to certain post receive them. Using this funding, the agency now wishes to move towards full implementation by adding 2,500 BWCs to ensure that all UMOS have access to their own cameras. The agency plans to utilize the grant to assist with expanding BWCs in three significant ways: 1) phase out the existing BWCs and procure updated models, possibly from a new manufacturer, 2) issue BWCs to all UMOS instead of staff in selected posts, and 3) issue BWCs to each UMOS as part of their standard equipment which will require that each UMOS is responsible for managing and maintaining their camera in the same manner they do for all their other equipment. The service area includes the five broughs of New York City (Queens, Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island) and intended beneficiaries consists of both the incarcerated population on Rikers Island and UMOS who work there. DOC will measure success and project performance by monitoring 1) BWC activation rates, 2) footage retrieval rates to the agency’s storage system, 3) UOF incidents captured on BWC footage, 4) average time it takes to resolve investigations, 5) quality and admissibility of BWC footage in legal proceedings and 6) BWC deployment rates. DOC’s Information Technology (IT) Division will work closely the agency’s Office of Management, Planning and Analysis (OMAP) to track program metrics and evaluate the impact of the proposed initiative. The Program Evaluation Unit (PEU) situated within OMAP will monitor the project’s impact based on metrics identified in the objectives and deliverables alongside use of force incident data. This information will be used to evaluate the proposed initiative’s impact to leverage BWC digital footage to promote evidence-based and procedurally just practices. OMAP and PEU, in conjunction with the IT Division, expects to make evidence-informed decisions regarding the expansion of BWCs across the Department.