The University of New Mexico's police department will soon enhance its campus safety measures by implementing body-worn cameras (BWCs) this fall. This initiative aims to improve accountability, build public trust, and provide reliable documentation for complaints, investigations, and potential legal proceedings.
“The decision to do this says that we see body-worn cameras as a useful tool. This is something we want to do in order to promote both safety and trust by the community,” said UNM Vice President for Finance Teresa Costantinidis. “We were never opposed to doing it. We weren't dug in and saying, ‘no, this is not something we will do at the University of New Mexico.’ It was choices and decisions that were made over time in terms of the limited resources that we had and how best to deploy them to support safety."
“We're now in a position where we're able to do it and we're enthusiastic about it. I have been involved with other police departments that implemented body-worn cameras and it actually was something that the officers themselves appreciated and were positive about. So, I'm hoping that happens here at the University of New Mexico.”
University officials have discussed implementing body-worn cameras since 2020 but prioritized other campus safety initiatives such as surveillance cameras and license plate readers.
“At the time (2020), we focused on surveillance cameras,” said Costantinidis. “Since then, we’ve implemented over 3,000 surveillance cameras on the UNM campus. The other thing that’s important to note about the police at UNM is that they actually wear audio recording devices at all times. We already had the body-worn audio recording, so we didn’t feel that it was essential to do the video recording, so we focused on surveillance cameras.”
UNM expects full implementation within three to six months, including purchasing equipment and training personnel. The institution has selected Axon as its vendor for providing BWCs to approximately 48 campus police officers under a five-year contract with an initial cost of $344,000 for the first year and $279,000 for subsequent years.
“We are taking the time to make sure we have the right policies and procedures in place,” said Costantinidis. “Not only to protect our community and make sure that we are doing things the right way but also that we are doing things in a way that the police are comfortable and happy to do."
During implementation, UNM plans extensive engagement with its campus community regarding BWCs' impact on privacy expectations in dormitories, locker rooms, patient care settings, among others.
“We have a campus that people view as their home," said Costantinidis. "We have dormitories, locker rooms, patient and clinical care settings where people would expect privacy... We want to come up with policies and practices that everyone is comfortable with.”
Community members can submit comments or questions about BWCs via an open form until September 15.
A 2018 U.S. Department of Justice report indicated BWCs are standard practice in policing based on findings from a 2016 Bureau of Justice Statistics survey. Additionally, research from Cambridge University suggested BWCs reduce use-of-force incidents by 60 percent while officer complaints decreased by 88 percent after introduction.
In New Mexico, Senate Bill 8 passed in 2020 mandates municipal law enforcement agents wear BWCs starting September 2020.
“UNMPD is committed to the safety of the campus community and community engagement,” said UNM Chief of Police Joe Silva. “Body-worn cameras will help strengthen the level of trust between the UNM community and campus police... I am looking forward to the benefits BWCs will provide in keeping our campus community safe.”
“I think it's important that people understand UNM cares deeply about safety... We have been striving...to keep this community as safe as possible," added Costantinidis.
