St. Joseph Public Safety To Get Body Cameras

saintjosephpublicsafety2-13
saintjosephpublicsafety2-13

One of the last police or public safety departments in Berrien County to get body cameras for officers will soon have them. The St. Joseph City Commission has approved the purchase of 24 cameras, and Deputy Public Safety Director Steve Neubecker explained to WSJM News why it took until now.

“I wanted the technology to catch up, so I wanted to wait until the bugs got worked out of the original system,” he said. “I waited the extra year to make sure we were buying the right system that was going to last us at least five years.”

He says some officers wanted to get their own GoPro cameras while waiting for the department to go through official channels, but he convinced them to hold off. The city received a grant from the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority for $10,000 to help with the cost of the cameras. The city will spend a little over $40,000 for the cameras, which are expected to be in use by the end of the month.