KINGSTON – Ulster County Sheriff’s deputies are now wearing body
cameras in a program launched by Sheriff Paul VanBlarcum.
The agency already employed dash board cameras in their vehicles. The
body cam program began on August 20 and now is fully operational.
They record audio/visual interactions with the public in addition to the
dash cams in each patrol vehicle.
The black body cams are worn on the chest of the outermost clothing of
each deputy and measure three inches by two inches.
“Body cameras are viewed as a valuable asset intended to assist
law enforcement in the prosecution of certain offenders by augmenting
cases with an audio/video recording of the incident,” VanBlarcum
said.
The equipment will also enable department administrators to conduct periodic
reviews of deputy-citizen contacts for quality control purposes and aid
in the investigation of citizen complaints, he said. The cameras also
provide another level of transparency to the public.
