NAHANT — All of the town’s police officers are now wearing body cameras, the Police Department announced in a written statement Monday morning.
Nahant’s police department is one of 32 across the Commonwealth that received, in total, approximately $2.5 million in state funding for body cameras. In November, the department received a $33,149 grant from the state’s Body-Worn Cameras Grant Program to purchase 26 Getac body-worn cameras and a data storage system.
Less than two months after Nahant Police first began wearing cameras in March, all officers and law enforcement supervisors are now required to wear them during public interactions.
Under the new guidelines, officers must record interactions from 11 different scenarios including vehicle stops, investigative person stops, dispatched calls for service involving civilians, initial responses by patrol officers, on-site detentions, investigations pursuant to an arrest, arrests, and initial suspect-interviews on-scene.
Additionally, all prisoner transports, patfrisks and searches of persons who have been arrested, emergency driving, and pursuits will be recorded. Situations where an officer reasonably believes a crowd-control incident may result in unlawful activity, and adversarial contact scenarios will also be recorded.
Police Chief Timothy Furlong said the cameras would foster trust and accountability between officers and the citizens they serve.
“The support and trust of our community is vital. By wearing cameras and recording our interactions, we can ensure that each officer performs with the highest level of professionalism,” Furlong said in the statement.
