Body Cams Mandated For NH State Police

There has been a lot of talk of police reform in the news lately. Officials have been taking a look at what they can do to improve police departments across the country.

According to Manchesterinklink.com, NH Governor Chris Sununu issued executive orders Wednesday that included the camera mandate. The executive orders also included mandates to increase police training on topics such as anti-bias instruction and different ways to report police misconduct.

WMUR reports that Governor Sununu released a statement saying in part:

“These recommendations represent the most transformative changes New Hampshire has ever made to our law enforcement system,”

There were about 20 mandates included in the executive order, and Governor Sununu tells WMUR that he thinks about half of these should be able to start immediately.

He says the other mandates are more long term and will require "a legislative approach".

The Attorney General's office will issue create a database to keep track of officer misconduct according to Manchesterinklink.com.   That database will require funding which will be discussed in the 2021 budget.