SLED, law enforcement agencies meet to discuss body cam policies

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - South Carolina law enforcement agencies across the state are meeting for an update on police body worn cameras.

Body cameras have been favored for their ability to provide insight into police interactions with the public. On Wednesday, 232 agencies in the state have been approved by SLED to deploy the device.

SLED Chief Mark Keel says now that most agencies around the state are complying with the new policy, the next step will be the funding. Statewide, the funds requested for the body worn cameras is over $9 million. The government has only approved $3.4 million.

"That has been a concern from the beginning because again we don't know exactly what those costs are," Keel said. "We know the cost of the cameras -- that's a more definite cost -- but the storage, not knowing how many hours of video or what the storage process is going to be because cameras are different. That is the concern law enforcement agencies have is the storage aspect."

Officials are still working on how to distribute the funds they do have.

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