Orange County deputies getting body cameras

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is outfitting 150 Uniform Patrol deputies with body cameras. That means the first officers on scene will be recording everything they see, beginning what Sheriff Jerry Demings calls a new age in law enforcement.

“We believe that this will revolutionize how we collect evidence regarding deputy behavior as well as citizen behavior,” Sheriff Demings said after a training session where deputies learned how to use the cameras before their shifts Thursday. 

Over the next few months, nearly 700 deputies will be wearing body cameras on their collars, caps, and eye glasses, to the tune of $3.2 million.  Sheriff Demings said the cameras will go a long way in improving the relationship between law enforcement and the people.

“This will do a couple things,” he added, “It will make our jobs more transparent, and hopefully forge better trust in what we do, but at the same time you will probably see citizen behavior being modified as a result of these cameras as well.”