DANVILLE (WSLS 10) - Danville police officers could soon have new, higher-quality body cameras.
The department has received a $13,491 Justice Assistance Grant from the Department of Criminal Justice Services for 26 cameras.
Danville City Council is now in the process of appropriating the money.
For Officer Robert Landrum, wearing a body camera is something that took a little getting used to, but since he started wearing one he's realized how beneficial its can be.
"They stop potential complaints before they even get started. They help in court cases," Landrum explained. "We can't always remember the exact details, but we can always go back and watch our videos."
For that reason, he siad the thought of newer cameras with better-quality video, audio and less chance of malfunctioning is comforting.
"The quality is pretty good. Improvements are always great. Anything they can improve on would be beneficial to us," said Landrum.
While the department's current body cameras work just fine, as fast as technology evolves today, that may not be the case much longer.
"Everything has an end to it," said Lt. Mike Wallace.
At Tuesday night's council meeting, a first reading will be held for an ordinance to amend the city's budget to appropriate grant money for the new cameras and three new chargers.
By using the grant, the department hopes to get a better idea about what the most effective way to replace body cameras is.
"Eventually, we're going to have to upgrade everything. So, we're trying to figure out if the best way to do that is to replace all of them or maybe enter into some type of maintenance agreement, that kind of thing," Lt. Wallace explained. "So, we're just looking into how we want to do that."
Assuming the money is eventually appropriated, it's not clear when the cameras would arrive or how they will be phased in.