Police chief reports monthly calls, previews body-worn camera pilot

The Police Chief told the Board of Selectmen on July 21 that the department answered 1,602 calls for service in June, conducted 167 motor-vehicle stops, carried out 742 directed patrols and made four arrests. "So June was good," the chief said, reporting the counts and adding that the department has sworn in two new officers, Bryce Eckstein and Julio Vasquez, who will attend the full-time academy.

The chief outlined an early-stage plan to pilot body-worn cameras from a vendor called CoreForce and to evaluate pricing and data-retention options. He said the department expects the highest costs will be cloud storage and that the vendor had offered a trial of two units for a month or longer so the town could assess the technology. "There's only a few departments, and we're one of them that doesn't have body cams just because of the cost," the chief said. Board members asked whether the purchase would be a one-time capital buy or a subscription and whether state contracts or federal money might be available to offset costs; the chief said both purchase and contract models were possible and that he would return with vendor quotes and a proposed policy.

The presentation included routine operational detail about recruiting and training: the chief described a three-year training/recoupment agreement the town asks recruits to sign and said the department conducts pre-academy physical testing and background checks before sending candidates to the academy. The board did not take a separate vote on the pilot; the chief said he will provide formal cost estimates, policy language, and potential grant or cooperative-purchase options at a future meeting.