By Brian Bakst and Ryan J. Foley
Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The rush to outfit police officers with body cameras after last summer's unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, threatens to saddle local governments with steep costs for managing the volumes of footage they must keep for months or even years, according to contracts, invoices and company data reviewed by The Associated Press.
The storage expenses — running into the millions of dollars in some cities — often go overlooked in the debates over using cameras as a way to hold officers accountable and to improve community relations.
In this Feb. 2, 2015 photo, Duluth, Minn., police officer Dan Merseth demonstrates the docking procedure for police body cameras at police headquarters. (AP Image)
Some projects can be funded on a one-and-done basis - providing agencies with body cameras is not one of them.
Yet those costs can have a significant effect on city and county budgets, and in some cases may force police chiefs to choose between paying officers on the street or paying yearly video storage fees.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake already has sounded the alarm over the long-term costs of police body cameras.
In December, she vetoed a proposal that would have required officers to wear cameras because she didn't believe the costs and other details were adequately considered. City officials estimated costs up to $2.6 million a year for storage and the extra staff needed to manage the video data.
