Arkansas lawmakers have authorized a plan to spend more than $950,000 in federal funds to purchase 130 new patrol-car cameras for Arkansas State Police.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grant would allow for Pannin high-resolution police cameras to be installed in more than a third of the state's patrol cars to replace broken or outdated equipment.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that about 100 patrol cars are already equipped with the new technology, which allows dashboard-camera data to be transferred to police headquarters over the Internet.
The system will enable state police to manage, maintain and store video evidence from in-car cameras that would otherwise have to be obtained by disc or tape.
The Arkansas Legislative Council's Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Subcommittee approved the system's expansion on Thursday.