Some of the concerns were practical, Kolb said, with worries over whether the cameras would be comfortable, how easy they would be to use, and when officers should or shouldn’t press the record button.

Officers in Janesville and Whitewater had reservations about a camera that recorded all of their interactions with civilians, Uhl and Moore said. They feared “the Big Brother effect,” as Moore described it.

Since then, however, officers in both departments have seen the benefit of cameras when faced with accusations of misconduct, and officials say they’ve come to appreciate them.

Hiers and Uhl both describe instances in which people came to police wishing to file complaints, but dropped the matter once they were told the incident was on video.

“It’s a quick meeting for me,” Uhl said.

In Whitewater, citizen complaints against officers have dropped from more than a dozen in 2013, when officers only had the cameras for part of the year, to a single complaint so far in 2014, Uhl said.

When someone does pursue a complaint, he said, the cameras also make that process easier.

“I don’t have to rely on the officer’s statement, I don’t have to rely on what the person is saying,” Uhl said. “I can go in and look at the video, and I’m there at the scene.”

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