(NewsNation) — In a major policy change, agents for Customs and Border Protection will no longer use body cameras in the field.
The agency says it’s because the cameras can be tracked and put agents at risk, raising the potential for bad actors to possibly rig bombs to explode when those cameras get too close.
Critics, however, are concerned with a lack of accountability for agents.
CBP was one of the first federal agencies to wear body cameras following an order from former President Joe Biden and has publicly released many of its recordings over the past four years.
The program began in 2021, but agents have now received an alert to stop using body cameras immediately.
A memo released by the agency’s incident-driven video recording system program management office said there are potential security risks associated with the cameras being used by agents, raising concern among other law enforcement agencies as well.
Information has been circulating on social media showing how to tap into the systems and track the cameras, saying they can be tracked from up to 100 yards away.
That makes offices wearing the cameras vulnerable and allows criminals or those crossing the border to evade them more easily.
Bomb squad sources told NewsNation there is also concern that the radio frequencies transmitted by the cameras could be used to set off an improvised explosive device, depending on what type of switch the bomb builder uses.
One department has a policy that the cameras should not be used for bomb squad operations, and any patrol officer has to deactivate the camera when they arrive on the scene.
CBP sources told NewsNation the agency uses Axon body cameras, which are also used by Phoenix police, who are also discussing the vulnerability.
Val Verde County, Texas, Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez told NewsNation that body cameras help create accountability for officers and protect citizens.
“It helps us put a case together because there’s evidence in that body camera footage,” he said. “We go back and check to see, make sure the officer is doing the right thing. That also helps us. When somebody has a citizen complaint, we have the body camera video. We can go back and check that video against the allegations being made.”
There is an ongoing investigation to figure out what risks are associated with body cameras and how much access hackers or other bad actors would be able to gain.
In Texas, officers searched a Chilean national who was allegedly part of a home invasion and say they found a device capable of disrupting police scanners and body cameras. That’s something they had not seen in that type of crime before and suggests criminals could be getting more sophisticated in their efforts to avoid being caught.
NewsNation reached out to Axon but has not yet received a response.
Read: Read More