Southold police officers to get $500 stipends for wearing body cameras this year, $2,500 by 2027

Southold Town police officers will be paid stipends to wear body cameras — starting at $500 this year and rising to $2,500 by 2027 — after the town executed a new agreement with its police union.

The agreement between the municipality and the Southold Town Police Benevolent Association sets policies for the implementation of the body-worn camera program — including annual stipends, according to a copy Newsday obtained under the state's Freedom of Information of Law. 

The agreement calls for the department's 50 officers to receive a $500 one-time stipend in 2025 to wear the cameras, according to the agreement. Next year, officers will receive $1,500 stipends. By 2027 and each year after, officer stipends will be $2,500.

The devices record interactions between police and the public. Backers of the technology consider the cameras a key tool for boosting transparency and law enforcement oversight. The Southold police force joins other East End town departments where officers already use body cameras, including East Hampton and Southampton. The Nassau County and Suffolk County police departments also use body cameras. The Town of Riverhead plans to implement the technology this year. 

Southold PBA president Roman Wilinski called the agreement "fair on both sides."

"There is more work involved," he said in an interview. "We're being compensated for the maintenance of the cameras, keeping them charged and there's more computer work to be done."

'A long time coming'

Southold used a $980,225 state grant to cover the cost of the cameras and launched a pilot program in 2023. Southold Police Chief Steven Grattan said the grant covers the equipment, software, other tech upgrades and a five-year deal with the company, Axon, for storing the footage.

Grattan said the department is in the middle of training officers to use the devices. He called the technology's arrival a “long time coming.”

“I think it’s important for the community’s trust,” he said. “It’s also good for officer protection from any false accusations. It’s a clear, objective video and audio that doesn’t lie. It’ll tell the story.”

Suffolk and Nassau counties each pay their officers $3,000 annual stipends for wearing the cameras, Newsday has reported.

Brian Higgins, a retired police chief and lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the practice of offering stipends could result in more perks for public sector workers. “One of the downsides … is the precedent it’ll set,” he said in an interview. “Every time you want a cop to do something different, you’re going to have to pay them more.”

Riverhead negotiations underway

Riverhead received a similar state grant last year totaling $1.47 million to outfit 100 officers with body-worn cameras. Riverhead Police Chief Ed Frost said the department plans to roll out its body-worn camera program this spring. The town is negotiating the policies with the union, officials said.

Frost said he expects there to be a slight learning curve. “It’s a new device,” he said. “I’m sure they’ll pick it up rather quickly. I have a young force right now,” Frost said.

Both towns are working with Lexipol, a Texas company that develops policies and manuals on the technology for law enforcement agencies across the nation.

Michael Ranalli, a market development manager at Lexipol, said in an interview that such policies are crucial.

“You can’t issue the cameras until your people actually know and understand what is and is not expected of them,” said Ranalli, a retired police chief for the Town of Glenville Town upstate.

Ranalli said departments may use the footage in training sessions.

“At times you’re out in one-person cars and it’s just very hard to get feedback,” he said. “It’s hard to understand what you did right, what you did wrong, what you could have done better — which is the most important thing to look at.”

Southold's policy says the cameras should be activated for all service calls. Recording is not required during “informal” interactions with members of the public. But the town recommends that cameras are turned on if the dialogue becomes “hostile,” according to a copy of the policy.

According to the policy, cameras should not be used to record internal interactions, in courtrooms or while interviewing victims of sex crimes. They also “shall not be used for the purpose of embarrassment, harassment or ridicule of any individual or group,” the policy says.