Committee approves one-year body-camera pilot for Trousdale Turner correctional facility

The committee unanimously forwarded a one-year pilot program to equip correctional officers at Trousdale Turner's privately operated facility with body-worn cameras. Senator Hatcher, sponsor of Senate Bill 18-20, said the pilot was prompted by prosecutorial difficulty in identifying offenders on stationary footage and a recent violent attack on an officer. "If the officer were to have a body camera, this would have given, the DA a better point of view," the sponsor said.

Senators supporting the bill argued the cameras would increase transparency and help prosecutions by creating an objective record of incidents. Sponsors also said CoreCivic agreed to pay the roughly $350,000 needed to buy the cameras and associated equipment for the pilot, which the sponsor said eliminates direct state cost for the initial trial.

The committee voted to move the bill to Finance (9 ayes). Members noted the pilot's limited scope — a single facility for one year — and said additional operational and oversight details will be reviewed in Finance.