Kershaw County outfits all uniformed deputies with body cameras

After researching body camera technology for three years, the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office has finally outfitted all of its uniformed deputies with body cameras, according to officials.

Sheriff Jim Matthews said the final training session in the use of body cameras was conducted on Thursday and the last group of officers to go through the training were equipped with the new cameras. Matthews said the sheriff’s office was able to fund the nearly $50,000 purchase for the 45 cameras, data storage capacity and mounting systems without asking for additional funding from the Kershaw County Council due to a reduction in gas prices.

Matthews said there are currently 40 cameras deployed and there has been few, if any, glitches in their use. One of the largest problems with the cameras has been with deputies remembering to turn them on as well as off once their public contact has concluded.

“So far there has been very little resistance on the part of the deputies to use these cameras,” Matthews said. “It helped that, during the first week of body cam use, an irate citizen’s complaints were proven false and she decided not to file a complaint when she was told there was body cam footage of the incident.”