WORCESTER, Mass. - The City of Worcester's Human Rights Commission held five public listening sessions over the course of two months to discuss police body cameras.
The meetings engaged the community with details about Worcester's six month body camera pilot program.
The city's Office of Human Rights and Accessibility says a lot of concerns centered around privacy concerns, about what officers will wear them, whether there's an option for officers to turn them off, and who will have access to the videos.
The Human Rights Commission says how much the body camera program will cost is also a big question.
“The operations of the police body camera program itself is a major undertaking,” Jayna Turchek, Director of the Office of Human Rights and Accessibility, said. “It changes the nature of police work, that is something that is really tremendous and is going to have far reaching effects. It will have a trickle down effect in terms of how courts will review and determine cases, it will have effect on privacy rights and how everyday residents will interact with police officers.”
How and when Worcester police officers will use body cameras will be determined in the next couple months.
Both the Boston and Springfield police departments permanently implemented body camera programs.