The Danville Police Department is getting ahead of the game and adding more body cameras to its roster before a new state law that requires them goes into effect.
Members of the city council’s Public Works Committee passed a resolution to purchase 40 body cameras and three camera docking stations for use by officers. The total cost is $31,842 and will be funded through existing funds in the department’s budget.
Police Chief Chris Yates says that the department will have 68 total cameras once the new ones are fully functional, with one camera for each officer. Each patrol officer has been using a camera for the past year, but some have had to be shared with an investigator or during shift changes. He says the officers are appreciative of the new equipment.
“The officers love these cameras,” he says. “They actually get to tell not just the last two minutes of a call–it shows the whole call. We enjoy that representation.”
City council members approved an initial purchase of 26 body cameras in July. Every law enforcement agency in the state will be required to implement the use of body cameras by 2025, per the new criminal justice reform act that Governor J.B. Pritzker signed last month.
Committee members also approved the replacement of three police vehicles. Yates says he expects to receive about $7,000 from a dealer in Arkansas, and he expects the purchase price for the three vehicles to be about $71,000. Each crusier will have about 20,000-30,000 miles on it.
The Danville Fire Department is also set to receive new reporting software. Chief Don McMasters says the department has used the same company since 1999 and it will no longer be upgraded. The total cost for the hardware and software is $173,000. The full city council will consider the items at its April 6th meeting.
