Newtown Police are applying for reimbursement from the state for body-worn cameras.  The grant is 100 percent reimburse to the town for the $69,400 cost.  Chief James Viadero says up until several months ago, the state wasn't allowing for infrastructure, but now they are.  That infrastructure includes software and storage in the form of servers to store video data. 

Viadero says the grant requires a guarantee to the state that the department will follow POST guidelines and monitor implementation of the cameras.  Those guidelines include reviewing policies, FIOA requests, and how long data will be kept for among others.  He says this type of technology is nothing out of the ordinary for Newtown Police because they already have in-car cameras. 

Viadero added that this is a good opportunity to stay with the national curve, and to get technology which at some point will likely become mandatory in the state. 

He says the benefit of applying now that servers can be paid for by the state is that it eliminates a recurring cost for a contract for cloud-based storage.  Right now the department has some storage capability, but the server will allow for more.