FACT BRIEF

Was California's Justice Department the first statewide agency in the US to require its officers to wear body cameras?

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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YES

In April 2015, California's then-Attorney General Kamala Harris announced plans to "institute a body camera policy for all DOJ special agent personnel conducting field operations." A 2016 statement confirmed the department was providing certain agents with body cameras. This was the first statewide body-cam initiative of its kind, applying only to agents working under the Attorney General and not to local law-enforcement or California Highway Patrol.

By May 2015, nine states (Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Carolina) had enacted laws addressing body cameras. Of these, only South Carolina mandated the use of body cameras by all state law-enforcement agencies. Body cameras are not yet required in all California law-enforcement agencies.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

California Attorney General: Results of review of special agent training on implicit bias and use of force (2015)

Sacramento Bee: California Department of Justice to use body cameras

Fresno Bee: Body camera comments in 2019 debate didn’t tell full story of Harris record

National Conference of State Legislatures: South Carolina first state to require police body cams

Bureau of Justice Assistance: DC Open Government Coalition—state-by-state body cam research

San Francisco Chronicle: State should expand body-camera laws

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