HELENA — Body cameras are a valuable resource for law enforcement agencies of all sizes, and the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) has just started using them.
Axon contractors with MHP are busy installing brand-new camera systems into vehicles and connecting them to body cameras, which the over 250 MHP troopers have never worn.
(Watch to learn more about MHP's new body cameras.)
"Everything we do is geared towards better service to the public, and that's what this system delivers for us," said Col. Kurt Sager, who leads MHP.
He says the body cameras will help his agency in multiple ways, like reducing the time it takes to write reports, getting evidence to prosecutors more efficiently, and for incidents that take troopers away from their vehicles.
Col. Sager said, "If you're pursuing somebody on foot, having a body cam is the only way you're going to capture footage there, because your car is not going to do it."
The body cameras will also add protection for both civilians and troopers.
"Sometimes we will get complaints or something else that occurs, and a body cam will show something very different than what we are being told," Sager said.
While the body cameras are new, MHP has had cameras in its vehicles for decades.
Col. Sager says there are several reasons MHP has not had body cameras until now, such as cost and interactions often taking place in front of their vehicles.
However, Sager also said their previous system was beginning to fail.
"Our old camera system was coming to the end of life," he said. "[It was] a little bit outdated, and we were starting to have some failures on our cameras. They were breaking down."
In 2023, the Montana legislature granted MHP $4,000,000 to implement the new system, and the funds will be distributed over the next 5 years.
"Technology and this kind of thing – we incorporate it to better serve the public," said Sager. "It's not something we use because it's fancy and razoo."
The new car cameras will record from the front and the back of the vehicles, along with the inside of the back seat.
"You really get as close to a full picture as you really can of a scene," said Col. Sager.
Getting the complete picture of a scene is something the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office can attest to.
They have had body cameras in their office for at least a decade, and all of their 14 deputies and roughly five detention officers wear them while on duty.
"[It] kind of adds a different layer when you can sit and watch what happened," said Jefferson County Undersheriff James Everett. "It puts visual context to what's in the words."
The sheriff's office replaced its camera system this year, which costs $59,699.50 and is paid for by taxpayers.
"It takes the guesswork right out of it," Undersheriff Everett said. "You can watch the video, and it will show you exactly what happened and what was said."
The new MHP camera system will start recording when a trooper activates their lights, or it can be triggered manually.
Col. Sager said, "Sometimes the video captures things that you may not have seen, because our field of vision is only what it is."
Sager says the rollout of the new systems should be complete sometime in October.
