Halifax County Sheriff Wes Tripp today outlined to commissioners his plan to buy 30 body cameras for every patrol deputy.

This would supplement the four already in use, the sheriff wrote in a memo contained in today's meeting agenda packet.

Money to fund the $27,000 purchase will come from the two sources, the sheriff noted in the memo. He will use $18,000 in asset forfeiture money and the remainder will come from a yearly Justice Administration grant.

“To ensure that we can purchase sufficient cameras at one time, we will use Vievu's purchase plan that spreads the cost of $900 over 36 months. For the first year's payment of $9,000 we will use the grant funding that we applied for last summer. Subsequent years will be paid with asset forfeiture money.”

While the sheriff noted the cameras could be bought outright, he wrote, “It would severely deplete the funds that we have in case of an urgent need.”

The plan includes a three-year warranty for the cameras and cloud storage while an outright purchase would include only a one-year warranty.

There is no interest or financing charge for the purchase plan.

Tripp told commissioners he wants deputies wearing the cameras for liability purposes. “The main reason is for the protection of the deputies.”

He told the board he is in the process of finalizing his body camera policy. The footage from the cameras cannot be edited, he said.

Once the purchase order is submitted, the cameras should arrive within a week or two.