Rochester City Budget Approves $2 Million For Body Cameras

The Rochester City Council in upstate New York recently approved an annual budget of $501.6 million, which includes $2 million for police body cameras.

A total of approximately 480 devices will be purchased, according to Time Warner Cable News in Rochester.

Rochester Police Chief Michael Ciminelli said they are still considering their options and plan to put together a request for a proposal soon to select a system. He said they will also start working with the community to form policies for the cameras.

… In several recent polls, the Mayor’s Office said about 90 percent of respondents approved of the use of body cameras.

“We do see there is going to be significant benefit with these cameras,” Ciminelli told TWC News. “On the other hand, they’re not going to solve all our problems so we want to be careful both internally with our officers and externally with the public that everybody understands that while this is going to be a very significant and beneficial addition, that it’s not going to solve all our problems and we want to keep everybody’s expectations in perspective.”