Newtown Police Department's long-planned acquisition of body-worn cameras for its patrol officers has been delayed, because securing funds for the purchase of hardware, plus related software, has proven to be a challenge, according to police officials.

Police have field-tested three brands of the surveillance devices, commonly known as bodycams, in seeking to learn which device is best suited for local law enforcement, based on its features and capabilities.

"We strongly believe that body cameras are a valuable law enforcement tool and critical to our agency's continued advancement. Funding is the challenge," according to Police Commission Chairman Joel Faxon.

"My goal is to implement them within a [one-to-two-] year period," he said.

"We have been beta testing the various camera vendors within the [police department]. The purchase price for cameras and other hardware [for the police department] is about $35,000. Yearly maintenance cost is about $10,000, with licensing and software," Mr Faxon said.

"If we are able to acquire funds through [a federal/state] grant process, that will hopefully accelerate the acquisition of the equipment," he said.

"Prior efforts to secure funding through capital requests within the town for these needed assets were unsuccessful and the administration was unable to fund our prior bodycam requests, assigning other town expenditures as priority items," Mr Faxon explained.

"Despite this, we have utilized existing equipment [in police patrol cars] to bridge the gap until funds are available for body cameras," he said.

"Storage of [camera-generated] data is also a challenge. Based on current funding, our capacity for digital storage is strained. We are optimistic, given potential grant funding availability and a new administration in town, that we will be able to meet our goal of obtaining full body camera coverage to enhance the protection our officers and the Newtown community," Mr Faxon said.

Town police have been using dashboard-mounted video cameras in their patrol cars for many years to visually and sonically record what occurs when they stop motorists. Those cameras point forward and record the scene in front of the patrol cars. Such recordings can serve as evidence for prosecutions in court.

Police Chief James Viadero said the dashboard-mounted cameras have proven to be an effective tool for police.

Bodycams used by police typically are small, square black devices affixed to uniformed police officers' shirts at chest level. They record video and audio. The devices are intended to increase the accountability of both the police and the public.

Bodycams that have been tested by police were produced by the firms known as VieVu, Taser International, and WatchGuard.

Town police are aware of the various confidentiality issues that arise among members of the public when police are working with functioning bodycams that make visual and sonic recordings of law enforcement situations, according to police. Thus, the Police Commission would formulate a policy governing the use of bodycams. Police union members would provide their views on that policy's content.

The state's Police Officer Standards and Training Council has created a model policy concerning bodycams.

In August 2015, Police Commission members decided that equipping town police officers with bodycams is a good idea and endorsed acquiring the devices.

It would not necessarily be obvious to members of the public when a police officer's bodycam is making a recording.