Elgin continues to test police cameras in light of Ferguson

Elgin police continue to test body-worn cameras, a process that started about 18 months ago and involves a lot of moving parts, officials said.

An attorney for the family of Michael Brown - an unarmed black teen killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri - proposed enacting a law requiring police departments across the nation to wear body cameras, Newsday reported Tuesday.

A grand jury found Monday there was no probable cause to indict officer Darren Wilson in the August shooting. Ferguson police started wearing body cameras about three weeks after the shooting.

Testing in Elgin will continue in 2015, and chances are cameras won't become standard until 2016, Police Chief Jeff Swoboda said.

"Ferguson illustrated the point that having cameras helps with trust," Swoboda said.

"Many times when accusations are made, if there had been a camera, it could be conclusive as to what happened. Our video in our squad cars has proven that time and time again."

However, it's important to find the right cameras, as well having proper policies and procedures about usage, storage and more, Swoboda said.

For example, Elgin police found that cameras attached to tactical helmets are effective, but cameras worn on the body are ineffectively pointed away when officers take a defensive stance.

This summer, the Kane County state's attorney's office opined that audio recording is permissible under Illinois' eavesdropping law, which broadened the scope of cameras tested in Elgin.

An amendment to pending legislation in the Illinois House would provide grants for body cameras via new fees on criminal and traffic sentences.

Cameras aren't that expensive - less than $200 each - but a larger expense will be a storage system for the recorded material, Swoboda said. Ideally, that storage will be integrated with squad camera video storage, he said.

"We are still continuing to look at it and it's definitely coming. We just don't know when."