But not everyone is a fan.
During a legislative committee hearing Tuesday, Steuben County Sheriff Tim Troyer, secretary of the Indiana Sheriffs' Association, said the use of body cameras could prove disastrous to his department's ability to conduct investigations.
"You're talking about, unlike a dash camera, a device that can be carried into constitutionally protected environments," he said.
Troyer argued that body cameras could end up shattering public trust instead of building it.
"We've gone to great lengths to gain trust in our communities," he said. "I think the fear in my agency and with my deputies is that the presence of those cameras ... in those areas creates fear in our people, in our citizens."
Troyer, whose department operates in a county of about 34,000 people, said he has sent a written directive to his agency prohibiting the use of body cameras.
He cited a number of cases he thinks could be compromised if the subject believes he or she is being recorded: a witness to a drug operation; a neighbor who witnesses a crime; a 6-year-old child who is the subject of a molestation case.
"They're less apt to communicate in great lengths," he said. "They're less apt to talk to that deputy about that incident in their neighborhood if they believe that recording is going to somehow make its way to an unprotected environment, or in the hands of other people."
Sen. Greg Taylor, a Democrat, asked Troyer during the meeting why his officers could not just turn off the camera before entering somewhere private, like someone's home.
Troyer countered. In the mind of that citizen, he asked, "Do they believe that I'm not recording?"
He continued: "Light or no light, the camera still exists."
Other departments in the state have expressed support for the use of body cameras, including Indianapolis. Indianapolis public safety officials have asked the City-County Council for $250,000 to help pay for body cameras in 2016. Discussion on that topic is expected to continue Wednesday night.
Speaking to The Indianapolis Star last week, Deputy Director of Public Safety Bryan Roach said he thinks cameras can be an "effective tool." Earlier this month, Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police President Rick Snyder said several officers "reported positive experiences with the equipment" during a pilot program earlier this year.
The committee that Troyer testified in front of created a working group to discuss potential legislation on body cameras. Those recommendations could then be considered by the General Assembly when the 2016 session begins in January.
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