It’s hard—nearly impossible, really—to listen to the news without at some point hearing the term “body camera.” More and more police forces are adopting body cameras as the number of high-profile, controversial legal battles between police officers and citizens continues to escalate. Despite some misgivings regarding concerns that the body cameras would violate privacy rights of police officers and citizens, body cameras have now been widely accepted across the country as the best way to create government transparency and ensure fair criminal investigations.
Now, the state of Illinois is taking the front seat on driving the same progress in the world of process serving. It could soon become a requirement for Illinois process servers to wear body cameras when attempting service, thanks to Illinois Bill HB 6327, introduced in February 2016.
More About Illinois Bill HB 6327
This new bill, if passed, would require body cameras on all process servers working in counties with populations of more than three million people. All video data would need to be stored until the related case was resolved, which could very well mean years.
State Representative La Shawn K. Ford introduced the bill out of concern that technology and cameras need to be used in innovative ways to improve transparency and security for all public servants. Body cameras would deliver the full truth of how papers were served, how the process server and recipient acted, if any violence occurred, and more. The video surveillance could prove vital in any number of cases in which the legitimacy of service is called into question.
Controversy
As long as a process server acts appropriately, in theory, the body camera surveillance could not damage his career in any way. However, many people worry that the cameras would actually increase the chances of a process server being assaulted. As one Illinois process server, Matt Massa, explained, “Just because it becomes law does not mean that the homeowner or defendant will take kindly to being videotaped, and we all know that anything can happen out there.”
Given how recently the bill was introduced to the Illinois legislature, this bill will not be passed any time soon. House representatives and senators will work together to determine the details of this bill and how it can win a majority to pass into law.
