Police departments from Bakersfield, Calif., to Scranton, Pa., and beyond are piloting and deploying body-worn cameras (BWC) in increasing numbers, a movement happening just as privacy issues gain greater attention across the nation.

While many hold out hope that BWCs will bring greater accountability and transparency of police actions, the technology also has the potential to cut into citizens’ privacy.

“Our hope is the increase in privacy laws will impact the adoption rate of body cameras, or at least create a higher standard of privacy policies when [police departments] adopt it or deploy it in their communities,” Sakira Cook, senior counsel of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, told Government Technology.

Read more