MCSO gets body cams and announces law enforcement camp for youth

MINERAL COUNTY – After having only been on the job for just under six months, Mineral County Sheriff Tom Bauer and his deputies are not only making their presence known amongst those who would break the law, but also among the law abiding public and especially young people.

Since taking over that beginning of the year, Bauer has made a point of getting involved with young people in the area in an effort to increase awareness that his deputies are active in the community and he is focused on engaging with community members. One way he wants to do that is by providing a law enforcement camp where kids can come, spend time with officers and find out how they conduct themselves on the job.

Bauer said the camp would provide young people a window into the inner working of the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office. He said the camp would show young people how they conduct an investigation. The camp will take place at the Savenac Nursery at the west end of the county August 17 through 21.

“What we will do is provide law enforcement training,” Bauer said. “It will include routine investigations, fingerprinting and everything we would do at a crime scene. It was something I talked about during my campaign. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I want to be proactive with the kids. I’m hoping the kids will get out of this, what it’s like to be a police officer.”

The other issue the sheriff has been working to acquire is body cams. The devices monitor both the activities of the officer and individuals the officer is interacting with on a constant basis. Bauer said the devices are as much for the protection of the officer as the public.

“We’ve been researching this for awhile,” Bauer said. “It’s something I’ve wanted for awhile.”

Bauer said, one of the more interesting parts of the story was not that Mineral County Sheriff’s deputies were wearing video cameras but how they were able to procure the equipment. Hesaid, when the county wasn’t able to pay for the cameras, someone stepped up to help the department.

“We were dead in the water without funds but someone approached me and said they wanted to help us acquire the body cams,” Bauer said. “He wrote a check and handed it to me. He didn’t want to be recognized. All he wanted was to help us out. It was a really cool deal.”