Agents at a Border Patrol academy will be part of a test of body-worn cameras.
The test of cameras will be worn beginning Oct. 1 to improve accountability and transparency at Customs and Border Protection, Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said Thursday to a small group of activists.
The government has purchased a variety of body cameras for the academy in Aretesia, N.M., according to the Associated Press.
It is unknown when or even if the roughly 21,000 agents currently in the field will get them, and testing will end in December.
The National Border Patrol Council — the union representing more than 17,000 agents — is expected to oppose the plan, which has said the cameras would be expensive and could cause agents to hesitate to act when their lives are in danger.
Kerlikowske also said the agency is changing how misconduct allegations are investigated.
