The Mashpee Police Department is the first on the Cape to announce a new plan for police officers to wear body cameras.
Town manager Rodney Collins says the idea is to preserve the public's trust and provide transparency into police actions.
The new program has been in the planning phase for well over a year, and was not brought about because of any wrong-doing by Mashpee police.
"In fact it's quite the opposite," Collins says. "I think this is going to show what the police have to sometimes deal with when they are exposed to difficult individuals."
While chiefs in some other local police departments have said the use of the cameras are expensive, Collins says that wasn't the case for Mashpee. They won't have to raise any additional capital funding for the cameras.
"It's not as expensive as we originally thought it would be," Collins says. "It's a matter of shifting some priorities as far as field equipment is concerned."
About a dozen police officers will begin wearing the cameras as part of a trial period likely to begin in September. The Mashpee town manager says that changes could be made after the trials.
Collins says that much of that officers will be held accountable if they turn off the cameras during a conflict.
