Galax Police Department gets new body cameras

Galax (WSLS) - Galax Police are getting up to date when it comes to the latest technology to help them better serve and protect.

Police officers now have body cameras, the old ones they had were flimsy and would break easily.

They also couldn't record the amount of video the new ones capable of which police say will help protect people and police if someone were to make a complaint.

The "Wolfcom" is about the size of a smart phone.

Galax Police Captain James Cox says all 24 police officers including the chief use the camera.

"The cameras allow the officers to record any interaction they have with the public from traffic stops to searches calls for service domestic dispute whatever the call may be," Cox said.

The cameras were paid with a $28,000 grant from the attorney general's office.

Cox says the old cameras couldn't hold the same amount of video and that's money well spent.

"These cameras are fully capable of staying charged through the twelve hour shift and recording any interaction between a twelve hour shift, each camera has a 32 gigabyte hard drive we have yet to fill up on a normal shift," Cox said.

The purpose of the cameras is to protect people and help with investigations or internal complaints.

No one has made a complaint about an officer acting inappropriately but the department could easily pull up the video and review if someone did.

"Once the video is on the device the officer has no way of removing it when they come at the end of their shift to download the video it's an automatic process."

Other localities are also using body cameras Blacksburg Police are using 12 and Roanoke Police are using 6.

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