FLOYD COUNTY, Ind. (WAVE) – The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office is currently the only agency in southern Indiana without body cameras. But they are looking to change this early next year and are asking for the public’s cooperation.
Floyd County Sheriff Steve Busch said cost is one of the biggest reasons his department hasn’t installed body cameras yet. Now, with funding secured from the county council, that is actually happening.
“I think it’s very beneficial for any police officer, whether it’s a corrections officer or a police officer, to have a camera because it helps them write a report, it helps them find out what happened, it helps them stay out of litigation and it helps them do the right thing,” Bush said.
But the department is also applying for a grant to cover the remaining costs, supported by David Rapsey Jr., an assistant professor of criminology at Indiana University Southeast.
“I contacted the sheriff and told him I thought I could help with grant writing and evaluating the technology if it became operational,” Rapsey said.
But these aren’t just body cameras; they use AI technology.
As part of the application, Rapsey is conducting a public inquiry.
“The study itself includes a research experiment comparing traditional body-worn cameras to AI-assisted body-worn cameras,” Rapsey said. “It uses GIS, or geographic information systems, to help activate or deactivate a camera on a particular call. The supervisor on duty can see a live stream of everything that camera is capturing. When a weapon is drawn, that camera and cameras within a certain distance automatically activate.”
AI capabilities could also be useful in writing police reports.
“Either way, the officer has to proofread that report and they have to review what they saw and what happened and make changes, but it’s a feature that we want to look at to make sure it’s what we want,” Bush said.
Rapsey told WAVE that while police officers may have mixed opinions about AI capabilities, he expects the public will support them, just as they would for traditional body cameras.
Nevertheless, Sheriff Bush said it is still important to get public input.
“It’s all about national sentiment of what they want, because ultimately they elected me, so they’re holding me accountable,” Bush said.
Rapsey said the investigation is likely to be concluded by the end of January. If you live in Floyd County and are interested in taking the class, it is linked here.
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