By Steve Neavling
Federal agents serving arrest warrants or executing raids will soon be required to wear body cameras, according to a new Justice Department memo.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco says in the memo that the new policy applies to ATF, FBI and U.S. Marshals, which have 30 days to submit plans governing the use of body cams.
“Although the Department’s law enforcement components do not regularly conduct patrols or routinely engage with the public in response to emergency calls, there are circumstances where the Department’s agents encounter the public during pre-planned law enforcement operations,” Monaco wrote in the memo. “The Department is committed to the use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) by the Department’s law enforcement agents in such circumstances.
In October, the Justice Department began allowing local police to wear body cams while serving on federal task forces.
The memo also states that U.S. attorneys should train prosecutors in the use of body cams as evidence.
“I am proud of the job performed by the Department’s law enforcement agents, and I am confident that these policies will continue to engender the trust and confidence of the American people in the work of the Department of Justice,” Monaco wrote.
