Fairfax County Police to move forward on body camera plan

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - Virginia’s most populous county is moving ahead this week with its plan to outfit police officers with body-worn cameras.

Fairfax Police Chief Edwin Roessler said the first phase of the three-year program to outfit officers with cameras begins on Friday. Officers, prosecutors and public defenders have all been training on how to use the system.

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That first phase begins with more than 400 cameras being put into service. Plans call for similar numbers of cameras to be phased in for each of the next two years.

Year one of the project costs about $4.3 million. Finishing the program over the next two years will require an additional $6.7 million.

Roessler warned future funding could be delayed because of budget woes caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

County officials say the cameras will promote transparency and build trust with the community.