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Body Cameras Will Now Be Worn In Guilford County Jails

Body cameras similar to the one shown here are being phased in at the Guilford County Detention Centers. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Body cameras will now be worn by detention officers in both of Guilford County's jail facilities. 

Sheriff Danny Rogers says the introduction of body-worn cameras in the Greensboro and High Point Detention Centers brings his office “up to the 21st century.”

The News & Record reports that county commissioners approved the purchase of 105 body cams in 2019, at a cost of roughly $225,000. They will supplement the hundreds of cameras already recording activity in both facilities.

Rogers said at a press conference that he believes the body cameras will help simplify the review process should any incidents arise. He stressed the importance of transparency and said he doesn't believe there have been any improper occurrences at the Guilford County jails. 

There have been numerous protests in the Triad following the death of John Neville, a Black man from Greensboro who died while in the custody of Forsyth County deputies. Recently-released body-cam footage from that incident shed light on what took place. 

The process of phasing in body cams in Guilford County jails began on Tuesday. It's expected they will be fully distributed by the end of September.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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