About one-third of all local police departments used body-worn cameras for at least some officers in 2013, according to a survey by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).
The 2013 survey was the edition of the BJS Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey was the first time the agency asked about body-worn cameras, so there is no indication of how those results compare to previous years. Current figures may actually be much higher, because in the time since the survey was conducted, a series of high-profile and controversial police-involved shootings have led to nationwide calls for the use of body-worn cameras by local departments.
Nearly 90 percent of police departments used some type of video technology in 2013, according to the survey. In-car video cameras were used by 68 percent of departments, up from 61 percent in 2007. An estimated 17 percent used automated license plate readers, while about half (49 percent) employed surveillance cameras in public areas.
Fewer than 1 percent of departments used drones, and about 4 percent used gunshot detection systems.
Read the full survey HERE.