Hennepin County Detention Deputies to get body cameras

Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson has announced that,

"Hennepin County sheriff's deputies soon will be outfitted with body cameras.."

Patrol, warrants and water patrol will be the first to get them then,

"The rest of the officers will get cameras in the second phase next year, including detention deputies and court security personnel. By the end of 2020, Hutchinson wants to have an additional 302 deputies wearing them." Source: Star Tribune

Body cameras in jail are not without controversy.

Ramsey County Sheriff  Bob Fletcher said in an MPR Article,

"Even the physical layout of the jail has been deemed to be security information," said Fletcher. "Where the doors are, how the doors are opened and accessed, where the inmates are allowed and not allowed — all those pieces of the puzzle become problematic with regards to security."

Jails are not public spaces. The Ramsey County sheriff said videos may also capture other inmates who don't wish to be identified. And he said he doesn't want to see video used to embarrass or shame people who are in custody."

In the same article the ACLU weighs in, "the Minnesota chapter of the ACLU, said jail staff should be required to notify inmates when they activate their cameras."

Currently Washington and Dakota County use body cams in their jails.

I started back in the days when there were no cameras in jail. In the long run it reduced sustainable complaints against staff because the inmates complaints didn't usually match the footage.

I suspect body cams will be the same, but it should make for some interesting litigation when lawyers are seeking footage and others are identifiable in it. Especially when Detention Deputy language is picked up. I remember as a Union Steward. representing members who got caught dropping an F bomb in conversational language picked up on footage obtained by a lawyer. 

Considering much of the jail is already under surveillance this seems redundant and opening a can of worms.

This will be interesting. It will probably require more staff just to go over all of the footage.

I hope their Union adds some good language in their contract.