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DeWitt County Sheriff Weighs In On Law Enforcement Legislation

A local law enforcement official is weighing in on the legislation in Springfield that is headed to Governor Rauner, saying the legislation would greatly effect the usefulness of the increasingly popular body cameras.

According to DeWitt County Sheriff Jered Shofner, the legislation addresses legitimate concerns in law enforcement. He points to provisions regarding the investigations of officers and the hiring of those officers in other places.

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The Sheriff says the way the legislation deals with body cameras is going to backfire. He explains the bill wants all interaction with the community recorded and believes many agencies will not seek using body cameras.

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Sheriff Shofner interprets the legislation as recording everyday encounters with citizens even if they may not be contentious at all. He feels those decisions should be made at a local level when putting rules in place for body cameras, rather than a state level.

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The Sheriff points out this was a bill that was put together in a bipartisan manner. Sheriff Shofner says it is concerning because a lot of republicans have voted for this measure given it is a good time to crack down on police actions with recent events involving law enforcement officers.

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The Sheriff says body cameras can be a very useful tool in law enforcement. He points to the effectiveness of the cameras in DeWitt County in that no cases that body cameras were used have gone to trial. He says the evidence is strong.

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