The flagler county sheriffs office believes in a community-oriented guardianship policing approach to law enforcement and strives to address the quality of life and crime concerns of its diverse and…

This $120,000 federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Body Worn Camera Policy and Implementation program (CFDA 16.835) will enable the Flagler County Sheriffs Office to expand its established body-worn camera (BWC) program. The funding will support the procurement and deployment of additional BWCs within the agency's Court and Detention Services Division and Investigative Services Division. This expansion is expected to promote increased transparency, accountability, and evidentiary effectiveness in law enforcement interactions with the public. Key project activities include updating agency BWC policies, developing community education initiatives, and enhancing internal training opportunities for BWC operators. The Flagler County Sheriffs Office, a U.S. local government entity, has been an early adopter of BWC technology and plans to leverage this grant to build upon its decade of successful BWC implementation.

The flagler county sheriffs office believes in a community-oriented guardianship policing approach to law enforcement and strives to address the quality of life and crime concerns of its diverse and quickly growing population of 115,378 flagler county citizens. As an early adopter of bwcs in 2013, the agency deployed bwcs within its community policing division. After a decade of successful implementation, fcso has identified additional need for bwcs within its court and detention services division and investigative services division. The agency now seeks to expand its established and successful BWC program among sworn law enforcement officers in these areas with the purpose of increasing officer safety, supporting evidentiary effectiveness, and promoting agency transparency and accountability. Project activities include a review of current mobile video recorder (MVR-BWC) general order and policies to ensure compliance with applicable laws and best practice, development of community education on the agency use of MVR-bwcs, procurement and deployment of additional bwcs within the court and detention services division and investigative services division, and review of mvrbwc audit data to identify and evaluate project performance measures on the fcso BWC expansion programs project goals and objectives. Successful implementation of the sheriffs office BWC expansion program is expected to produce positive outcomes by promoting transparency and accountability in law enforcement officer interactions with the public, leading to improved law enforcement and community stakeholder partnerships along with a decrease in community complaints resulting in an internal inquiry or higher; increased access to critical evidentiary support with the deployment of added BWC operators in additional settings; improved officer safety with broader live streaming capabilities, expediting the assessment for and dispatch of required support; and enhanced internal training development and training opportunities for agency MVR-BWC operators. Prior implementation of bwcs by fcso suggests bwcs in conjunction with a comprehensive use of force policy can have a compelling effect on use of force data and documentation, as evidenced by the agencys proven record of using deescalation techniques and its low number of use of force incidents.