The drug control department abandons its use of body cameras

The drug control department quietly ended the body’s camera program barely four years after its inception, according to an internal email obtained by ProPublica.

On April 2, the headquarters of the Narcotics Administration via e -mail sent employees who announced that the program had been completed in the previous day. The Drug Enforcement Administration has not publicly announced the change of policy, but by early April, Links to pages about body camera policies On the Dea website it was broken.

The e -mail said that the agency made the change “consistent” with Trump’s executive order that cancels the condition of 2022 that all federal laws use body cameras.

However, there is still nothing not required of at least the federal law enforcement agencies within the Ministry of Justice – the American Marshal service, the alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives – body cameras, according to their spokesperson. The FBI referred questions about the physical camera policy to the Ministry of Justice, which refused to comment.

The drug control department did not respond to the questions about its decision to stop using the cameras, saying that the agency “does not comment on tools and technologies.” Reuters reported the change as part of a story about Budget discounts for law enforcement offices.

One of the former federal prosecutors has expressed concern that the change would make life more difficult for the Anti -Narcotics Administration agents.

“The vast majority of the times I saw the body camera shots depend on allegations of a defense lawyer about what a policeman did,” said David Devilors, a former American lawyer for the southern region in Ohio. “I would like to say 95 % of the time exempt a policeman to commit violations.”

The Ministry of Justice began asking its federal agents wearing devices in 2021 following the protests against the death of George Floyd in the previous summer.

We welcome the addition of worn cameras to the body and appreciate the enhanced transparency and confirmation they provide to the public and law enforcement employees who work hard to preserve September 1, 2021, a press release Announcing the use of cameras.

In May 2022, then President Joe Biden issued an executive order that expands the use of body cameras for all federal law enforcement employees.

In January, the Trump administration canceled this system, along with nearly 100 others considered “harmful”.

In early February, the enforcement of American migration and customs, which is part of the Ministry of Internal Security, was One of the first agencies to get rid of body cameras. Subsequent videos show immigration agents of regular Suleimoes who make arrests without visual body cameras.

The Ministry of Justice wrote in the 2022 office from the Office of the Inspector General that the cameras were “a way to enhance the accountability of the police and the confidence of the public in the application of the law.” Studies have constantly showed that departments that use body cameras face a decrease in complaints against officers, according to Forum executive research for non -profit policeAlthough it is not clear whether the decline is due to improvements in the officer’s behavior or a decrease in trivial complaints.

“The elimination of these videos is the tool that we have seen useful for law enforcement practices,” said Cameron McKelhini, Executive Director of the National Association for the Supervision of Law enforcement. “It is also a great educational tool, as well as keeping members of society in safe from the potential misconduct that can happen.”

The Ministry of Justice put a lot of money in the body camera initiative. In August 2021, AXON was granted the company that dominates the body cameras market, and a $ 30.4 million contract for cameras and the program to deal with the evidence they created. The contract, according to Lukon, is still active. But about its sixth was paid, according to what I mentioned Federal contracting data.

The date of the latest version available to the public from the DEA body camera policy is due to December 2022. Only agents are required to wear devices when conducting arrests or searches and confiscations that require a required matter. It also also requires only drug control officers to wear body cameras when they were working in the United States.

The agents had 72 hours after the end of the operation to download their video guides, unless there was a shooting, in which case they were directed to download video guides as soon as possible. The policy in detail, how evidence of cameras should be addressed in the event, used force officers, has authorized drug control using video evidence when investigating its officers.

The drug control department had planned to implement the policy in the stages so that its officers throughout the country were wearing devices when providing orders or planned arrests. In its financial year 2025 Budget request To Congress, the agency requested $ 15.8 million and 69 full -time employees, including five lawyers, “to enable the DEA gradual implementation plan to use at the country level for worn cameras.”

The records obtained through the Freedom of Information Law by citizens on the responsibility and morals in Washington show that the Ministry of Justice, which dates back to the Biden era, has an ambitious plan to capture standards and data at the agency level on the efficiency and use of body cameras by law enforcement employees.

Laura Ehhanchour, chief adviser to the crew, said that before the implementation of the federal law in wearing body cameras, many local cameras Police agencies refused to participate In federal work teams because doing this would have forced their officers to remove their cameras.

“It is a preventive action for officers, for the public,” said iHeanachor. “Federal and state law enforcement is allowed to work together in harmony.”