OKLAHOMA CITY ( KFOR ) – Starting in October, the state department of corrections will have body cameras on all their officers in prison facilities across Oklahoma.
“Adding body cams to our correctional officers just adds another layer of transparency to help protect the inmates and our staff,” ODOC Chief of Public Relations Kay Thompson said.
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They got over a thousand of them to be on the uniforms of corrections officers across 22 facilities.
“We did training with wardens, deputy wardens and chiefs of security this last week to learn how to operate the platform and how to pull down the videos,” Thompson said.
The agency also did a pilot program for them at two of their facilities. One at a minimum security and another at a maximum security prison.
“During the program, we actually saw a 40 percent reduction in serious incidents and a 60% reduction in PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) allegations,” Thompson said.