East Providence Police Announce Body, Car Camera Pilot Program

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI — The East Providence Police Department announced Friday that it is launching a pilot program during which officers will wear body cameras and have cameras in their cars.

Beginning March 16, six patrol officers and supervisors who have volunteered to participate in the pilot will wear body cameras for a trial period that will last for approximately three to four months to allow the department to test cameras from several different companies.

"The field-testing phase will allow for these officers to properly assess the effectiveness of each vendor's equipment," said the department in a news release. "Officer participation in the pilot program was granted upon the completion of training sessions on the usage of vendor's equipment."

The department's goal for the program is to increase transparency between East Providence police officers and city residents and a "working policy" has been implemented during the trial period to ensure compliance with the law and protect the privacy of community members.