Body-Worn Camera Program Approved 

On September 24, 2019, the Board voted unanimously to approve a body-worn camera program for the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD). While I have largely supported this program because of its transparency and accountability goals, I had some hesitation voting for this initiative due to the cost and timing of its approval.

Community trust is extremely important, especially when it comes to our police force. I am all for transparency, accountability and building on that community trust because I believe it keeps both our residents and our police safer. The FCPD does an excellent job of community engagement from National Night Out, to Open Houses, to 'Coffee with the Cops,' to Sensory Day for families with autism, and other neighborhood-friendly events.

In 2018, the Board began the process of looking into a body-worn camera program in Fairfax County. The Board commissioned American University to conduct a study on the county's body worn camera pilot program to better understand potential impacts of the program on the community and police. According to the study, "Most community members believe FCPD does its job well," with 53% of respondents saying they agree, and 31%  saying they strongly agree - which I think is a great credit to our police, especially given the national environment.

I had three concerns with approving the program:

The initial funding will be out of reserves and carryover funds (read: one-time money) but the costs will be recurring. This program has significant recurring expenditures. The Board has a policy of only using carryover funds for one-time expenditures and not recurring expenditures.  When recurring funds are approved outside of the budget process they cannot be weighed against other priorities. One priority I believe it should be weighed against is finally addressing police pay so it is competitive with that of other jurisdictions. Increasing police pay is a pressing public safety issue because without it, we cannot recruit the best officers. There was not support from the Board on my suggestion to defer the vote on the program to the normal budget process. Unfortunately, the body camera program is not the only commitment we have made outside of the budget process for a 2021 budget that showed a $75M shortfall back in April.

This program is addressing a national issue that our own study reflects we largely don't have here in Fairfax County. According to the study, there is support across minority and majority groups for the FCPD. This support was not impacted whether or not the officer community members interacted with was wearing a body camera. Largely, the study reflected that although the community is supportive for a body camera program, it is not something the community sees as a top necessity. We can always do better and there are benefits for any tool that increases transparency, including body-worn cameras.

The impacts this program will have on our court system, public safety costs and the compounding costs of maintaining this program. The study mentions that this program could significantly slow down the court system because of an abundance of video evidence that would have to be sorted through and presented in court. Storage technology is advancing and dropping in cost, but we cannot be sure this trend will continue. In addition, this program will require many more hires in our judicial system to handle the influx of video evidence presented in cases. Just two weeks ago the Board discussed how our public defender's office is already swamped and our estimates of recurring costs do not include the impact on the public defender's office, nor does it include potential costs in the Commonwealth Attorney's office.Several jurisdictions, including Arlington, are dropping or moving away from body camera programs due to significant recurring costs that could be invested in other public safety needs.

In the end, I believe the benefits of the transparency and accountability to both the police and the public outweigh these concerns. I will be keeping track of our investment in the program and its impact on public safety and ask the Board to adjust as appropriate.