The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles recently joined the wave of law enforcement agencies now utilizing uniform mounted video recording devices also known as body cameras as a tool to improve public safety.
Unlike many police departments and other law enforcement agencies, for the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, the purpose behind the program is not to reduce citizen complaints, address liability issues or to avoid potential litigation. For the Georgia Parole Board, the body cameras will function primarily as a method to capture and record offender interaction information.
The Georgia Parole Board has considered and vetted the implementation of this technology and trusts that its use will further advance the agency’s mission of protecting the public through making informed parole decisions and effectively supervising offenders.
Of the agency’s two-pronged mission statement, it is the latter of the two the Parole Board believes will receive the greatest impact and benefit.
State Board of Pardons and Paroles Executive Director Michael Nail says, "The use of body cameras is another tool for the officer to utilize as they carry out their mission of enhancing public safety.”
With the implementation of this technology, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles has, without question, once again plotted and set a course into unfamiliar and uncharted waters in the field of community supervision. No other paroling authority or community supervision agency currently utilizes this technology in the performance of its day-to-day field operations.
"This is another example where we, as an agency, go beyond best practices in our pursuit of next practices,” said Nail.
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