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Central PD to get new state-of-the-art tech for officers

4 months 6 days 12 hours ago Tuesday, July 09 2024 Jul 9, 2024 July 09, 2024 6:53 PM July 09, 2024 in News
Source: WBRZ

CENTRAL - The City of Central Police Department is once again bringing some of the latest, state-of-the-art technology to the front lines.

"Some people would say 'toys,' but it's new equipment that will help us out in the field," Chief Roger Corcoran said.

The new "toys" include brand-new body cameras, unit cameras and Tasers.

Though Central officers already wear body cameras, these new ones come with a novel feature.

"One good thing about these new cameras, if one of my officers gets in a pursuit or gets into a bad situation, I can actually remote (connect) into their camera and I can see what they see."

The new cameras in the police cruisers will be able to tap into the already-in-place license plate readers installed around the city.

"When one of my officers arrives in a parking lot, it will actually run every license plate in the parking lot and if there is a stolen vehicle in the parking lot, they will know it's there."

The price tag for this new equipment comes with a yearly subscription fee totaling around $68,000. It was approved by the city council in December.

While Central is a relatively small, part-time police department with about 18 officers, they've obtained some of the newest technology year after year.

The department, and the city as a whole, is funded by the same two-percent sales tax the newly formed City of St. George is trying to tap into.

"We've done a lot with grants too," Corcoran said. "There's lots of grants out there for law enforcement and first responders."

Corcoran hopes the price tag will be worth the increase in accountability.

"I want my officers to do the right thing. We always do. Are there bad actors out there? Yes, there's bad actors on both sides. We want to keep everybody honest and this is the way you keep transparency. "

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