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Supporting the strengthening of community and Saint Paul Police safety.
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WHEREAS, The St. Paul Police Department's mission is to promote safe and healthy neighborhoods through strong, professional partnerships with those they serve in our diverse community; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Police Department has a long tradition of finding new and innovative ways to interact with and build trust with Saint Paul residents; and
WHEREAS, body-worn cameras have been shown to protect both police officers and community members by incentivizing both parties to reduce or eliminate the use of force; and
WHEREAS, body-worn cameras can help preserve evidence from crime scenes and accurately capture multiple witness' account of an incident, leading to more resolved crimes and stronger legal cases; and
WHEREAS, currently, only 22% of full-time sworn Saint Paul Police Department Officers live in the City of Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, state law prohibits mandatory residency within a jurisdiction as a condition of employment; and
WHEREAS, studies have shown that the community benefits from police offices living alongside them because it builds relationships and trust, gives the Police Officers an inside perspective of a neighborhood and adds a level of security to a neighborhood; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council asks that the Saint Paul Police Department work over the coming year to develop a body-worn camera pilot program that includes best practices for data privacy to be launched in the budget year 2016. The Saint Paul City Council further requests that the Saint Paul Police Department report back to the Council by May 1, 2015, on its progress on the body-worn camera pilot program identifying a 2016 budget proposal, long-term budget impact, a timeline for implementation, state law regulatory issues, including data creation, maintenance, access and retention issues, and any outstanding issues and that it reports back to the Council by Septem...
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