The Bozeman Police Department currently uses body worn cameras for all sworn officers and select civilian staff. This system works in conjunction with the patrol car video system and the interview room system at the Bozeman Public Safety Center.  

Body worn cameras are provided to assist department personnel in the performance of their duties, enhance officer safety, provide recordings that may aid in the investigation and recollection of an incident for related prosecutions or civil actions, and enhance public trust by preserving factual representations of officer-citizen interactions.

The department’s policy specifies that all sworn officers must use body worn cameras when responding to a call for service. This means that any investigation-related interactions with citizens, including transports, proactive enforcement contacts, and responses to calls for service will be recorded.   

The body worn cameras will not be activated when officers are not engaged in activity related to a call for service or investigation.  This includes school resource officers in a school, officers on foot patrol, or officers in a patrol car who are not on a call for service.    

Getac, the system utilized by the Bozeman Police Department does not possess bio-metric or facial recognition capabilities.  

Once a body worn camera video, patrol car video, or interview room video has been created, the video is automatically uploaded onto a server which is then associated with the corresponding call for service. The system further maintains an audit trail of recording, which cannot be modified and disallows any unauthorized edits or deletions.  

If you have any questions regarding the Bozeman Police Department’s body worn camera program, please email us at bwc@bozeman.net. You can also view the policy that covers body worn cameras.