Four body-worn cameras (BWC) will make their way to the chests of on-duty Rosendale Police Officers on Monday, according to Chief Scott Schaffrick.

“In launching the [BWC] program, our goal is to create a level of transparency that provides an accurate documentation of the interactions our officers have with the community,” Schaffrick wrote in a department press release. “In addition to capturing arrests and other important incidents, it provides us an opportunity to capture the positive, good work that our officers do each day.”

The cameras will allow supervisors in the department to periodically review footage of interactions or related to complaints from the public, the release read. These recordings will also likely be obtainable by interested members of the public through the Freedom of Information Law (also called a “FOIL” request). The purchase of the cameras was spurred through the efforts of the Rosendale Community Police Reform Committee, which urged the town to buy them in their reform report, and diligent grant-searching from Schaffrick.

Officers will be using Motorola WatchGuard V-300 series BWCs, which Schaffrick said were durable and reliable, and used a server-based system to store videos, avoiding costly cloud storage fees. Schaffrick earned the money for the first two pairs of cameras via a matching grant offered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The department is applying for a number of smaller grants to get their hands on another six for its officers as well.

More details surrounding the use and policies attached to the BWCs will come next week.

“I want to thank the Town of Rosendale Supervisor [Jeanne Walsh], the town board, as well as the [Rosendale] Police Commission for their support of our [BWC] program,” Schaffrick wrote in the release. “It is my belief that this program will allow us to continue our commitment to transparency, and help us maintain the highest level of professionalism.”