The Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that it will allow state, local, territorial, and tribal task force officers to use body-worn cameras on Federal task forces nationwide.
Under the new policy, Federally deputized officers will be allowed to activate a body-worn camera while serving arrest warrants, or during other planned arrest operations, and during the execution of search warrants. In an Oct. 30 press release, the DoJ noted that the policy is the result of a pilot program launched last October which ran from January to September 2020.
The policy will impact state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement officers who partner with the DoJ through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the FBI; and the U.S. Marshals Service.
In a press release, DoJ said that state and local agencies that would like to participate in DOJ’s task force body-worn camera program should contact the Special-Agent-in-Charge of the Federal agency sponsoring the task force or the Federal district’s U.S. Marshal.
“Due to the large number of state and local agencies nationwide that may like to participate, Federal agencies may establish a graduated process to onboard partner agencies to the body-worn camera program,” DoJ said. “This will ensure an orderly and coordinated process to deal with the technical, training, and operational considerations involved in establishing a large-scale body-worn camera program.”
