Towson University Public Safety Officers To Wear Body-Worn Cameras
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- Towson University public safety officers will be among the first in the University System of Maryland to wear body-worn cameras.
The university's Office of Public Safety fully implemented the body-worn camera program at the beginning of July, following a phased introduction that started in the spring of this year.
The university received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice in late 2020 to order equipment.
All Maryland law enforcement agencies must establish such a system by July 2025, according to recent legislative changes in Maryland.
Officers and supervisors in staff positions and plainclothes investigators will be assigned a body-worn camera for deployment whenever they work in a uniformed assignment that involves, or is likely to involve, interaction with the community.
Officers will be trained on how to use the equipment and the software used to upload and access the recordings. Officers also will learn how to activate and deactivate the cameras and will activate their cameras any time they are engaging in law enforcement encounters.
The public safety office has more than 40 sworn officers. The National Council for Home Safety and Security ranks the campus among the safest in the nation, according to a university statement.
The university is one of only a handful of universities in the nation to carry dual accreditation by both the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Agencies and the Commission on the Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, according to the statement.