Penn State Police Now Equipped with Body Cameras

Every local police department in Centre County is now equipped with body-worn cameras as Penn State police implemented the devices beginning Monday.

The university announced in June 2020 that it planned to equip every officer with body cameras “to be more transparent and accountable with the communities they serve,” and to promote the safety of officers and community members.

“This important step builds on our ongoing efforts to cultivate a more trusting relationship with community members,” Charlie Noffsinger, associate vice president for Penn State University Police and Public Safety, said in a statement. “Body-worn cameras contribute to officer accountability and give police and citizens another tool that contributes to better policing.

“While not a solution on their own, body-worn cameras can be used as a promising approach to improve interactions within communities when appropriate policy safeguards and training are in place.”

Worn on the officer’s chest, the cameras record video and audio of interactions with the public and have internal storage to save the recordings for review.

University Police and Public Safety policy will require recordings to be saved for at least 180 days, exceeding the minimum of 60 days recommended by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

According to the university, cameras typically will be used “at the initiation of a call for service, or other activity, that is investigative or enforcement in nature,” and “during an encounter between the officer and a member of the public that is investigative or involves an enforcement action.” Policy also requires officers to inform individuals present “as soon as reasonably practicable,” that the camera is recording.

All sworn officers at Penn State — about 150 statewide — will be equipped with the cameras. In addition to University Park, that includes officers at 21 other campuses: Abington, Altoona, Beaver, Berks, Brandywine, Dickinson Law, DuBois, Erie, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Great Valley, Harrisburg, Hazleton, Lehigh Valley, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Schuylkill, Scranton, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York.

Penn State implemented the cameras after a review of technology, laws and best practices followed by a development of policy informed by state laws and industry standards, hands-on training sessions for officers and briefings with university leaders, faculty and student groups.

In Centre County, university police join the five municipal police departments in using body cameras. Last summer, Bellefonte became the last of those departments to begin using the devices, following in the steps of Ferguson, Patton and Spring townships and State College Borough. The Centre County Sheriff’s Office also uses body cameras.

State police at Rockview are the only law enforcement in Centre County that do not use the cameras, as Pennsylvania State Police has not yet implemented them on a statewide basis.