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The Cambridge Police Department announced on Tuesday that it is beginning to deploy body worn cameras in a “phased rollout” after years of debate over the technology’s implementation.

Training is expected to begin this week, and all officers — including command staff, supervisors, detectives, and patrol officers — are expected to be equipped with body cameras by early April.

Officers will be required to begin recording on their body cameras during all dispatch calls involving civilians and “self-initiated contacts of a law enforcement nature,” according to CPD policy posted on the Department’s website.

CPD’s policy mandates that officers should notify people that they are being audio and video recorded and keep the cameras active until the end of the interaction “to ensure the integrity of the recording.”

An individual being recorded by police can request for the camera to be shut off, but officers must record the request on camera, notify dispatch that they are deactivating their camera, and document the request in their incident report.

CPD took its first steps to implement body cameras earlier this year, purchasing roughly $1 million in cameras, licensing, and storage from police technology company Axon. The funding comes from the city’s 2025 capital budget, but the cost of annual licensing, data storage, and staffing will be included in the department’s operating budget.

“The Cambridge Police will also be leveraging Axon’s digital evidence management solution, which streamlines video storage, retrieval, and case management, ultimately improving efficiency in handling evidence,” CPD wrote in a citywide email alert.

Video footage is subject to state public records laws, though certain footage will be exempt or redacted at the discretion of the city’s Law Department.

Footage may be redacted to ensure the protection of victims and witnesses or preserve the integrity of ongoing investigations, though recordings of a sensitive nature are exempt entirely.

A member of the Cambridge Police Body Worn Camera Unit, which includes both officers and professional staff, will audit the video footage to ensure “accountability of actions and accuracy of reporting.”

Sworn officers will be subject to “progressive discipline,” including termination, for violations of the department’s policy on camera activation. 

Officers will be allowed to review their own footage to ensure accuracy and consistency in writing incident reports unless the officer uses deadly force.

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office will determine whether an officer is allowed to review their footage prior to giving a statement if deadly force is used.

Councilors first called on CPD to implement body cameras on the force in March 2023, months after a CPD officer fatally shot 20-year-old Sayed Faisal while responding to a report that he was harming himself.

The 2024 PERF report published after Faisal’s death commended CPD’s early progress in implementing body cameras, recommending that they finalize decisions “as swiftly as possible.”

Still, negotiations over the body cameras stalled for more than a year as CPD and two officer unions disputed stipends for officers to cover maintenance costs of the cameras.

The deployment of the cameras comes after testing of different BWC models, and policy development, according to the CPD statement. Training for officers will continue over the next month.

“We know that trust is earned through actions. This program is another way we are working to maintain that trust while upholding the highest standards of policing,” CPD Commissioner Christine A. Elow wrote in a statement.

—Staff writer Matan H. Josephy can be reached matan.josephy@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @matanjosephy.

—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart or on Threads @laurel.shugart.