Police Commission members this week approved a policy to provide guidance to police officers in the use of body-worn cameras, also known as bodycams, a surveillance device that police soon will be wearing to visually and sonically record police interactions with the public.

Police Commission members approved the nine-page policy/procedures document after brief discussion at a September 4 meeting. The document is based on a model policy for police bodycam use promulgated by the state’s Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POSTC).

In July, police received a shipment of bodycams and related computer equipment. The police department has 45 members. Police Chief James Viadero said September 4 police will be training in the use of the devices. The chief said he expects the bodycams to be in wide use by town police by late October.

Police acquired the compact, lightweight Vie-Vu brand camera, which police officers will have mounted on their chests while on patrol. The black plastic devices are about the size of deck of cards. People being recorded by the devices would not necessarily know that the audio/video recording system is running.

Bodycams are being increasingly used by police departments to provide a visual/sonic record of police/public interactions for the sake of accountability on the part of both police and the public.

According to the new bodycam policy, creating video/audio records through the use of bodycams will contribute to the accurate documentation of critical incidents, police-public contacts, crime scenes, accident scenes, and arrests. The recorded material would be used by police in their investigations. The recordings may be introduced as evidence in court.

Police have long made visual/sonic recordings of their interactions with motorists through the use of cameras that are mounted on the dashboards of their patrol vehicles, commonly known as “dashcams.”

The new policy explains why police will be wearing bodycams. The move is intended to strengthen police accountability by documenting incidents and encounters between police and the public. The recordings would be used to resolve officer-related incidents and complaints by providing an objectively independent record of events. Also, the use of bodycams would improve police department transparency by allowing the public to see video evidence of police activities and encounters in accordance with laws covering public disclosure.

Bodycam use also is intended to identify and strengthen officer performance by using recordings for officer training and monitoring when appropriate. Also, bodycam recordings are intended to improve evidence documentation for investigations, prosecutions, and administrative reviews of employee performance, and/or for civil actions.

All Connecticut Freedom of Information requests for the digital files produced by police bodycams will be processed by the police chief’s office or the chief’s designee.

Before deciding on which bodycam to acquire, town police field-tested three brands of the surveillance devices in seeking to learn which unit is best suited for local law enforcement based on features and capabilities.

The town will be fully reimbursed by a state grant of $69,434 for the purchase of the bodycams and related equipment.

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