Partnership brings about new body cameras to sheriff’s office

DOUBLE SPRINGS    - A community partnership between the Winston County Sheriff’s Office The 25th Circuit District Attorney’s Office, as well as local businesses has provided the sheriff’s office new body cameras as a valuable tool not just in fighting crime, but also in court.
“This is a tremendous upgrade for our department,” stressed Winston County Sheriff Horace Moore.
The donation of the new body cameras was made possible not only by the district attorney’s office, but also Greg Farris with American Fiberglass, Rex Harrison of Harrison Drug, Winston Homebuilders and Arley First Baptist Church.
“Our old body cameras were outdated and gave us numerous problems,” stressed Winston County Sheriff’s Investigator Jacob Eward.
The older cameras, Eward explained, were not able to download the data they collected on scenes as well as were often not recording the data, he said.
“You would think they were recording when they were not,”  Eward said.
The body cameras which are worn at the center of the deputy’s or investigator’s chest,  record data on a scene from the moment the officer steps out of his vehicle, Eward explained.
Eward received an older body camera when he started with the sheriff’s office in September of 2019.
“It always had issues,” he said, “either with the battery life or with recording and downloading videos.”
The policy of the sheriff’s office is when they have any contacts and step out of their vehicle on a scene, the body camera begins recording so the entire incident can be recorded.
“It tells the whole story of what happened,” Eward noted. “That way, the truth is in the video.”
Moore agreed the older cameras were much trouble for the deputies.
“At times, video evidence was lost due to outdated software with the camera,” Moore pointed out.
25th Circuit District Attorney Scott Slatton talked with many of the deputies, becoming concerned for their safety without properly functioning body cameras.
“The safety and transparency provided to the public and our officers are very important,” Slatton stated.
“These cameras are a major upgrade,” Slatton added. “These cameras and the use policy put into place by the sheriff ensure that every encounter a deputy has is accounted for and available to review.”
Funds from the DA’s office provided toward this project came from their criminal forfeiture/seizure account, which is comprised of funds collected as a result of criminal activity, Slatton stated.
Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Brett Rodgers and Moore commended all of the partners in the project for their generous donations to make the new body cameras possible.  Moore specifically thanked Slatton for his help in raising funds for the body cameras which his investigators and deputies are now using.
“This is something we really needed for the force,” Moore stated. “By working together, great things happen.”
“I appreciate our community partners who were very willing to assist in the funding for all Winston County Sheriff’s Office deputies and investigators to get a new camera,” Slatton added.
Eward, who is proud to be able to wear a functioning body camera, expressed his thanks to everyone that was involved in getting the new cameras.
“This will help us get better cases together so we can keep people in jail,” Eward said.
“It really helps with the transparency of our job,” he added. “It helps us show the public exactly what happened.”
These body cameras, he continued, also provide data that can be used as key evidence in court.