The East Lansdowne Police Department announced that body cameras will be worn by five crossing guards who protect students at two elementary schools in the community — Vision Academy Charter School, which has 3,000 students, and East Lansdowne Elementary School with 286 students. Police Chief James Cadden said it’s the first department in the area, to his knowledge, to issue the cameras to crossing guards. “The inspiration was the constant issue of complaints of guards being harassed,” Cadden said. “The BWCs [body-worn cameras] being issued to the crossing guards is part of a multi-layered approach to public safety.” Cadden said the borough codes enforcement officer, another employee that can face stressful situations, has also been assigned a body-worn camera. The chief said that in a small community they have the ability to experiment with initiatives where the expense is not as large as in more populated communities, and much of the cost for the cameras was paid for through grants. “All of it is regulated by policy, regulation and training. We didn’t just buy toys and hand them out,” Cadden said. “We worked with our solicitor to get a nice comprehensive policy and training oversight in place.”
Source: Daily Times; 5/4/2026