Hoping that the “second” time is a charm, the Kennedale Police Department received the go ahead from the Kennedale City Council to apply for a grant from the North Texas Council of Governments for the purchase of body cameras for its officers on duty. The Department has applied for this before but without luck. {{more}}
Departments across the nation have discovered that while the cameras themselves are inexpensive, the data storage issue is massive and can be costly. All the data is stored for a period of time, but some video data may need to be stored for years if it is related to litigation or possible litigation. This takes a separate dedicated server that has restricted access. The cost can be prohibitive for police departments trying to balance other needs.
This time Kennedale Police Chief Tommy Williams feels that they have found a better alternative to the problems that body cameras can present, namely file space.The Department recently purchased a video system for each of the patrol cars. That same company now offers body cameras that can be integrated with their patrol car video and stored on the dedicated proprietary equipment used by the auto video. This will reduce cost according to Williams because a new stand-alone server will not have to be purchased. The system will allow the two systems [car video and body video] to be linked when the data is downloaded.
The total money being requested is $25,000. This will cover 21 cameras, mounting hardware, and the server upgrade.
The grant process is a 5 to 6 month procedure so it will not be until September or October before the City learns if the grant request has been approved.
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