Idaho prisons are in the midst of a three-year pilot program that some believe could curtail abuse and promote accountability.
[Originally published by Prison Journalism Project.]
By James Mancuso
Idaho state prisons are piloting body cameras on guards, which some believe will increase safety and accountability.
Last year, the Idaho prison system instructed guards at some state prisons to start wearing body cameras, according to information I obtained through a public information request.
Dozens of people I surveyed for this story think that’s a good thing. Nearly every one of them told me they believed guards wearing cameras would make state prisons safer and hold guards more accountable.
“It’ll keep both ends honest with each other,” said Cody Fortin, an incarcerated resident, referring to prisoners and officers.
As of my writing in mid-February, body cameras have not been mandated at the prison where I’m detained, Idaho State Correctional Institution. But Fortin recently arrived here from Idaho State Correctional Center, which did utilize cameras for three months as part of a three-year pilot project.
Fortin, who spent five months in ISCC last year, told me he interacted with a corporal both before and while he wore a body camera. In their limited interactions, Fortin said the high-ranking officer seemed nicer and more helpful when wearing the camera.
“More accountability is great for everyone,” said Patrick Irving, a PJP contributor who is incarcerated with me.
What officers think
During the trial period, officers were asked to wear cameras on the upper-front torso in a way that was not obstructed by clothing, according to a policy document I obtained. The cameras were to be activated during qualifying events, including patrol on the housing tiers, use-of-force events, transporting someone of the opposite sex, or when a prisoner or fellow employee was aggressive or engaged in harassment.
I spoke to a corrections officer who had firsthand knowledge of the pilot at Idaho Maximum Security Institution, which is close to our prison. The officer, who asked to remain anonymous because he is not permitted to speak with the media, said he thought every officer would eventually be required to wear one.
Another guard told me he thinks body cameras will keep officers honest “and root out the bad officers.”
“I consider myself to be a good officer and see the body cams as a means of accountability,” he said. “Officers who are more malicious and tend to antagonize residents, rather than use the conflict resolution and de-escalation tactics we learned in training, have pushed back on the idea of body cams.”
Another officer said he was indifferent.
“If I’m told to wear one, I’ll wear it,” he said. “If not, not.”
A skeptic’s view
The department’s body camera pilot program is funded by a three-year federal grant, expected to expire in September next year, an Idaho Department of Correction’s spokesperson told a Prison Journalism Project editor in an email. IDOC has also utilized body cameras in probation and parole offices and the state’s special investigations unit for fugitive recovery.
The plan is to deploy up to 512 body cameras before the funding for the pilot concludes. At that point the department will assess the program’s outcomes and consider whether to expand or extend the use of body cameras.
Mirza Delic was the lone person I found who expressed concern about the body cameras. Delic, an incarcerated person, wishes IDOC would have pursued other funding or grant opportunities. In particular, he would like to see better shoes provided to indigent prisoners (they are given something similar to boat shoes now), upgraded gym equipment at maximum security prisons and murals painted on prison walls to make a facility feel more “like a home.”
Delic added that part of his skepticism with body cameras is that they have not proven to be a catch-all solution to stopping law enforcement overreach. He referenced the recent killings by federal officers of two different protesters in Minnesota.
Even though that was caught on video, Delic said, nothing significant seemed to happen.