Sandwich City Council approves police department purchase of body-worn and squad car cameras

Sandwich City Council members approved the police department’s purchase of body-worn and squad car camera systems at a special meeting March 11.

The City Council authorized Sandwich Police Chief Jim Bianchi to place an order not to exceed $145,000 for squad car camera equipment and $90,000 for body cameras for the department’s officers.

Police are expecting to receive a $121,000 grant from U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood’s office to help pay for the cameras in each of the department’s seven squad cars.

Bianchi said his department is also currently working on securing state funding for the body-worn cameras.

Mayor Todd Latham said the cameras will improve evidence collection and help to protect both citizens and police officers.

Police are required to implement body-worn cameras by Jan. 1, 2025 under the IL Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act, enacted in 2016 by the Illinois General Assembly.

Under the law, every officer must be trained with the new body worn cameras and have the cameras equipped whenever on duty.

A report from the National Institute of Justice states that, “Despite their widespread and growing adoption, the current evidence regarding the effectiveness of body-worn cameras is mixed. Some studies suggest that body-worn cameras may offer benefits while others show either no impact or possible negative effects.”

According to a report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, body-worn cameras are being implemented mainly to improve officer safety, increase evidence quality, reduce civilian complaints and reduce agency liability.