For much of the last decade, the deputies with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office have been equipped with body cameras, and Chief Deputy Bill Helms says the benefits far outweigh the expense of the technology.
“I can remember when I first got involved with law enforcement more than 20 years ago, we would include in our reports as much as possible, and that includes what the weather was doing at the time of the call,” Helms said. “Now, we still write out those reports for every call, but the footage can be reviewed, and the details can be exact.
“The footage tells the truth, and that means our deputies can never get the color of a car, or the weather, or the color of someone’s hair,” he said. “That’s why it’s a great tool to have because it has improved our ability to police. The technology is available to us, so why wouldn’t you use it.”
The Benefits
Not only do the body cameras record each call responded to by a Marshall County deputy, but the technology protects everyone involved in those incidents. Although Helms was not a big fan early in his career, his opinion has changed through the years.
“When the cameras first came out, there was resistance, and I was absolutely one of the guys who resisted at first. There are several of us that didn’t think we needed them,” Helms admitted. “Now, it didn’t take us very long to realize that the cameras were there to help us, and they did then, too, and still do today.
“It was pretty expensive in the very beginning, but that’s changed over the years just like everything else involving technology has,” he continued. “These days, though, you don’t even know you’re wearing them because of light and small they are today. It’s night and day from the beginning.”
The recorded footage from the body cameras also come in handy when a resident disapproves how a deputy handled a situation.
“From time to time, we’ll get a complaint, and it’s very satisfying to bring the person in, take their complaint, and then pull up the footage of the encounter with the deputy,” Helms said. “If you think about it, we all have a skewed view because we’re all looking from behind our own eyes.
“Our memories are our memories and there was a time when an eyewitness testimony was given the believability factor. If an eyewitness saw a crime take place, it happened,” he continued. “But what we have come to learn is that an eyewitness can be flawed, too, because we’re all human beings. But the cameras are usually spot-on. The footage tells the story.”
Big Brother?
In 1949, author George Orwell composed and published his ninth and final novel, and that book was, Nineteen Eighty-Four. The theme involved government overreach with invasive surveillance that was labeled, “Big Brother,” and it warned the world of totalitarianism.
The American society did not encounter that in 1984, but is it upon us now?
“It’s all about security, and that’s why cameras are everywhere these days and whether you are inside or outside, there’s a very good chance you are on camera,” Helms said. “The doorbell cameras have become very popular, and if someone doesn’t have one yet, they should look into one because of the quality those produce.
“And when things have happened and a local business has cameras, we’ve never been denied the footage. Everyone with those cameras has cooperated,” he said. “There are some really good systems out there right now, and I suspect they will only get better and better in the future.”
The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office also has access to camera footage near the county courthouse and in other areas, the chief deputy confirmed.
“We do have cameras in the county for surveillance purposes, but I’m not going to say where they are because that would defeat purpose,” Helms explained. “And our building is full of cameras, and we have used the ones in the courthouse because, believe it or not, we have had people snatch up purses while they were there. That just blows my mind because those people have to know they are on camera.
“Plus, each deputy wears a camera, too, and that’s a very good thing,” he said. “Those cameras are utilized daily, and the deputies really like having for a lot of different reasons. Those cameras serve as protection for everyone involved, and that includes the deputies. I’m blessed because I get to work with the finest group of individuals that I’ve ever been associated with in law enforcement.”
