Holding Center Deputies Getting Body Cameras In Erie County

Lately, there has been a lot of news about police agencies and their use of cameras in various capacities.

From various departments like the Buffalo Police, Cheektowaga Police, and Lancaster Police using stationary license plate cameras to track people as they drive around the region to the Hamburg Police Department's lack of cameras, departments keeping track of things using video is becoming more prevalent daily.

The Erie County Sheriff's Office, which issues body cameras to patrol deputies, is now taking steps to issue cameras to deputies assigned to the Erie County Holding Center in downtown Buffalo and the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden, New York.

The ECSO is responsible for more than 1,500 inmates on any given day between the two facilities.

According to WGRZ-TV, around 300 cameras are being deployed to deputies and corrections officers who work in the two facilities.

Officials from the Erie County Legislature is applauding this move by the Sheriff's Office as a key step towards transparency in the county. This is something that elected officials on the city and county level have been asking for, especially in light of the fact that Erie County taxpayers are now on the hook for a more than $90 million judgment award to the family of a man who, according to the jury, died at the hands of the Erie County Sheriff's Office.

Hopefully, these cameras will improve conditions in the two Erie County jails.