Dewey police officers to wear body cameras

Dewey Beach police officers will soon be equipped with body-worn cameras, Sgt. Cliff Dempsey said during a Feb. 17 commissioners meeting presentation.

The department chose a dictation version of the cameras from vendor Axon, the same company that supplies its Tasers, Dempsey said. This model will produce a transcript of everything said on video, saving officers time previously spent writing reports, he said, and will also help the town in terms of liability.

Dewey secured nearly $34,000 in annual funding for the five-year program from the Department of Homeland Security for a total of $169,000, he said.

Officers will be required to wear the cameras on their way to and from work, and for the duration of their shifts, he said. Cameras can record 18 hours of video, and all evidence will be stored on a secure server that officers will not be able to access, so videos cannot be altered or deleted, he said.