Marine Corps Air Station Miramar is the first Marine base to implement a body camera program on all military policemen and women, according to Fox 5 San Diego.
“In today’s environment and the way the world has changed, the new normal is we have to be prepared for any kind of threat that’s out there,” said Lt. Col. Scott Rooker, MCAS Provost Marshall.
Rooker indicated they’re working with the San Diego police and its body camera program. They began the testing phase almost a year ago and have now implemented a full roll-out of the program.
“It helps to increase the security for those officers. They feel much more comfortable. It helps them in their investigative endeavors, it helps them in their policies and procedures, it makes them better officers overall because they can go look at it for training purposes to see how they reacted to a situation and figure out what they can do better,” Rooker said.
Officials say that the cameras are already providing critical information.
“Generally, they’re going to look for cues for when they need to turn the camera on. So they’re going to try to judge temperament and intent of a suspect or an individual as they come to the gate or if they’re on a traffic stop. Or if they respond to call at a business or residence on base. They’ll immediately start assessing the situation and depending on what’s going on, they’ll make the call to turn the camera on,” Rooker said.
The Marine Corps is currently investigating opportunities to implement body cameras at more bases.
“We want to make sure we have the best capabilities and technology for our people for their safety and security and to ensure we can do the very best job we can to protect the military personnel that work and live on this base,” Rooker said.
