Massachusetts State Police will test body cameras over the next six months.

 

According to a news report, the pilot will allow the State Police to evaluate equipment from several different vendors and the cameras “will provide an additional level of accountability and accuracy for Troopers during their interactions with the public, increase officer safety, and enhance the ability to accurately document the actions of criminal offenders.”

"State Police Superintendent Col. Kerry Gilpin announced last April that the agency would make a number of changes -- including activating GPS trackers for marked cruisers, the elimination of the Turnpike-patrolling Troop E and early work towards a body camera program -- in hopes of restoring public confidence in the State Police," the news report said.

Gilpin said the cameras “offer the potential to bring a new level of officer safety, transparency, and accurate documentation to the tens of thousands of interactions our personnel have with the public every year.”

The union that represents most troopers, the State Police Association of Massachusetts (SPAM), supports the program.