ORANGE PARK, Fla. — Body-worn police cameras have become commonplace across the country over the past decade, but they still aren't everywhere. And until recently, that included Clay County. However, that's all changing.
At the beginning of the month, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office started testing out different body cameras to eventually add to every deputy uniform.
“I know that the vast majority of time, our deputies are doing the right thing, and this is going to help capture that," Sheriff Michelle Cook said. "And then if we do make a mistake, you know, it provides us some clear evidence of what actually happened."
The sheriff says adding body cameras to the Clay County deputy uniform has been on her wish list since her first day on the job.
But, with the agency being behind on the technological curve, Cook made it a priority to rebuild its infrastructure inside the sheriff's office first, before adding new street technology.
"When I came into office, we were still doing paper timesheets," Cook told First Coast News. "We had a vacancy rate that was really high that had to be addressed. I had to get deputies in the door and onto the street."
The investments CCSO made back in 2020 have set the sheriff’s office up to start their year-and-a-half-long body camera study this June.
"It was important to me to find a product that both worked for our deputies and worked for our community," Cook said. "Every system that's available out there has different features. And we wanted to test out a small number of them that we narrowed it down to, to determine which was going to be the best fit for us."
Body cameras are not required by state law, although 80% of sheriff's offices across Florida have them. However, the Clay County Sheriff's Office is taking their time when picking out the camera that will be worn by 350 deputies.
"Technology is constantly evolving and constantly upgrading," said Cook. "And we want to make sure that we're not jumping into something and spending a lot of taxpayer dollars on something that's going to be antiquated and out of date in two to five years."
CCSO wants to use the body cams as more than just a level of safety, but as a training opportunity and a way to hold their own deputies accountable.
“We are so fortunate to live in a county that trusts its law enforcement," Cook said. "But, trust is something that we have to continue to work for every single day, like we have to come in every day and earn the trust of our community. And the body cameras, just an additional layer of transparency for us."
Currently, 10 different deputies from various departments will continue testing various camera brands, trying them out before buying the best body cam that will fit the needs for the entire fleet, all to ensure every deputy can add a body camera to their uniform by 2026.