ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Police Department on Friday released results from a study that shows body cameras worn by officers enhance safety and lessen the number of complaints against law enforcement.
OPD and researchers from the University of South Florida conducted the study from March 2014 through February 2015.
Orlando police said 46 officers were randomly selected to wear body cameras, and 43 were randomly assigned not to wear them.
"It's unedited. It's what happened out on the street," said Officer Brian Cechowski. "It's what we deal with day in and day out."
Police said the results show that body cameras are an effective tool to reduce response to resistance incidents and complaints.
OPD said wearing body cameras also positively influenced officers' behavior, although no details were presented in a news release issued by the agency.
The study showed that many of the officers wearing cameras said they improved evidence collection and report writing, as well as help officers improve their work in general by having the opportunity to review their own video.
OPD said the majority of the officers involved in the study want to keep the body cameras and believe the agency should implement a full-scale adoption of the tools.
"We believe the use of body cameras will strengthen community trust, improve accountability and transparency, protect our officers from false complaints and provide valuable evidence for prosecutors," Orlando Police Chief John Mina said.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and the Orlando City Council budgeted the funding of body cameras, and in late September, the department was awarded a $497,480 Body-Worn Camera Implementation Program grant by the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs. The grant period lasts through September 2017. OPD said it will purchase 450 cameras with the grant money.