Naperville Police Department beginning body camera testing

Starting with Tuesday night's shifts, the Naperville Police Department will begin a series of body camera trials for its officers with the goal of fully implementing a system by the fall of 2022.

Interim Police Chief Jason Arres said the six- to 10-week trial process will feature body cameras from three different companies - Axon, Motorola and Utility - with 26 department volunteers slated for the testing. Four to six officers per shift will test each system for about two weeks at a time, starting this week with the Motorola camera.

Arres said having a video record of officers interacting with the public during police calls and arrests will increase transparency and create more accountability on both sides of the camera. He noted the Naperville Police Department system will be in place before January 2023, which is when body cameras will be mandated in Illinois for cities the size of Naperville.

"This was in motion before it was a mandate by the state," Arres said. "Naperville was heading down this path before the House bill was passed or any of that.

"This has been a long planning process for us," he said.

Depending on the selected vendor and payment model, Arres estimated the implementation cost at around $2 million over the course of a potential five-year contract. The cost would include body camera and in-car camera systems that would be linked, as well as storage for the video files.

Naperville Police Department Deputy Director of Administrative Services Russell Matson, who helped implement a body camera system for the Elgin Police Department, said the three companies they chose for trials are the leading manufacturers in the industry.

"We know these are the biggest players," Matson said. "But if they didn't meet our needs, of course we would expand our research and take a look at more. We needed a starting point, and this is it."

The camera system is typically engaged when the emergency lights are turned on in an officer's patrol car. Otherwise, the officer needs to turn on the camera manually.

Arres said various divisions within the department will participate in the testing, including patrol officers, sergeants, traffic units and the strategic response unit.

After the testing is done, Arres said it will take several months to evaluate each system, order the one they choose and install the nearly 200 cameras and associated technology throughout the department.

During the trials, Arres said, the videos will be stored on DVDs.

"We think this is a mutually beneficial thing for everyone," Arres said. "Our men and women do a great job every day with a lot of things and have a lot thrown at them. I am excited for the public to see the good work that gets done on a daily basis by our police officers."