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Select deputies at the Onondaga County Jail in Syracuse will soon be required to wear body cameras. This new policy aims to enhance accountability for both deputies and inmates. Sheriff Toby Shelley announced that the department has allocated approximately $136,000 for the program. The cameras will primarily be used by the Sheriff's Emergency Response Team (SERT), which handles potential issues within inmate cells.
The decision to implement body cameras marks a shift in Sheriff Shelley's stance. During his 2022 campaign, he opposed the idea, citing cost concerns and the presence of fixed security cameras in the jail. However, a recent incident involving accusations against deputies for allegedly attacking an inmate highlighted the limitations of current security measures. The existing cameras do not cover the inside of cells, and Shelley believes body cameras would have provided clarity in the situation. "We won't have to have the word of an inmate or a deputy, we'll be able to see for ourselves exactly what happened," Shelley said, according to CNY Central.
The department is still awaiting the arrival of the necessary hardware, but the goal is to have the body cameras operational in the jail sometime in 2025. This initiative is part of a broader overhaul of the body camera policy for deputies who interact with the public.