Body cameras are only part of the picture

The Iowa City Police Department soon will join other law enforcement agencies in the area and around the country using body cameras - new video technology to capture and record encounters between police and citizens.

Iowa City Police officers, investigators, command staff and community-service officers will be outfitted with the cameras. Coralville and North Liberty police departments and the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety already use the equipment.

Proponents say the cameras can collect valuable evidence and save time investigating complaints about police-community interactions. Opponents have concerns about privacy, about who owns the footage, and how and for how long the footage is stored.

Body cameras clearly can be an important tool in documenting police response and investigation, but they are no panacea. As with any other type of evidence, the footage they capture will show only part of the bigger picture.

We have concerns about the lack of uniformity between law enforcement agencies regarding the particulars of how, when and why body camera recordings are used and how they are archived.

For example, Coralville police activate their cameras during every interaction with citizens. Iowa City officers will turn on cameras when recording anything that could be considered evidence or lead to an officer complaint.

As these devices become more commonplace, we hope that uniform standards are established to ensure best practices and consistency between jurisdictions.

No doubt some of these questions will need to be addressed by juries and the courts in individual cases, as they weigh the evidence captured on video with whatever other evidence can point to what happened before and after the recording was activated or outside the camera's frame.

But most importantly, body cameras cannot replace the hard work that police and community members must put in to continually build strong relationships and understanding in the service of public safety.

Snippets of video will have their usefulness in solving individual cases and resolving particular complaints, but the bigger picture is that we all will benefit when police and citizens work together to create strong, safe communities.

' Comments: (319) 398-8469; editorial@thegazette.com