While police units across the U.S. are seeing increased calls for body camera use to better monitor what officers are doing, the Air Force’s law enforcement troops will stop using the security tool in part due to lack of funding for their application.
The service has chosen to discontinue its use of body cameras for Security Forces members because there is no comprehensive Defense Department policy for the cameras nor an “existing program of record that would provide service-wide funding or guidance on the appropriate use of the body-worn cameras,” spokeswoman Ann Stefanek has said.
A memorandum sent to all Air Force bases regarding the change was first posted on the unofficial, but popular Amn/Nco/Snco Facebook page, and was confirmed as authentic by Military.com. Additionally, there is no official program or guidance that dictates how the footage acquired on the cameras should be stored, Stefanek said in an email.
“We service a gated military community with an extremely low rate of law enforcement incidents that does not currently present a need for a non-DoD required or resourced body camera system,” she said. “However, Department of the Air Force installations have cameras at key and critical locations that serve multiple purposes.”
According to the memo, the service weighed their value and found “mixed data on the benefits along with significant handling and security concerns.” The service estimates 13 units actively employed body cameras; nine had purchased the equipment but had yet to activate them for field use, per the memo.
Security Forces units should follow Defense Logistics Agency guidance to dispose of the cameras properly. The agency oversees the purchase of equipment for the armed forces. It’s unclear if the Air Force units would be forced to destroy the body cameras, or could sell them as surplus. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that other agencies are likely to adopt body cameras for law enforcement personnel.
