Blacksburg Police Department continues to research body cameras

BLACKSBURG (WSLS 10) - The Blacksburg Police Department is saving up to buy every officer a body camera, but it is not in a hurry to make the purchase.

Leaders said they want to make sure they get some questions answered before they spend tens of thousands of taxpayers' dollars.

Legislation is still pending on how long police departments must store footage from body cameras. Depending on the outcome, certain storage systems on the market would be rendered useless.

There have also been privacy issues coming up during the last year, when innocent people turn up on footage.

"We want to make sure that we don't get ahead of the technology, that we don't get ahead of the legislation," said Lt. Mike Albert. "We want to protect the citizens too, their privacy."

The Blacksburg Police Department is tentatively planning to make the purchase in about three years, but it said that could change depending on how the laws continue to form.