Honolulu Police Department launches 30-day body camera pilot program Copyright by KHON - All rights reserved Video

You may see police officers sporting a new accessory around town.

The Honolulu Police Department launched Monday a 30-day pilot program for body cameras.

The department was supposed to roll out the program about two months ago, but encountered storage issues with a previous vendor.

So officials switched to a different vendor, Axon, which is already being used by the Kauai and Maui police departments.

Seventy-seven officers who patrol the downtown, Chinatown, and Ala Moana neighborhoods are testing the cameras.

The department chose third watch officers who work the 2 to 11 p.m. shift.

"They have a large volume of cases and also they have a large, different type of variety of cases. So what that does is as we're assessing the program, it gives us much more things to look at. From an officer's standpoint, they'll be able to catch exactly what they're seeing, the public, when we get requests," explained Capt. Rade Vanic.

Officers are required to undergo online training provided by vendor, as well as policy training online. The department is in the process of conducting hour-long training for camera users and four-hour training for back-end managers.

The cameras will be positioned on each officer's chest. Policy requires the officer to turn the camera on every time he or she responds to a call.

Failure to do so requires the officer to immediately inform his or her supervisor, or face repercussions.

Copyright by KHON - All rights reserved

Each officer is equipped with an iPod to help review the footage, but the video isn't stored on these iPods. That way officers can't tamper with what was recorded.

HPD says the officer isn't required to tell you if you're being recorded.

"When the camera is recording, there will be lights on the camera that will show that they are being recorded," Vanic said. "It's safe to say that if you see a camera on an officer and you're interacting, you're being recorded."

After 30 days, HPD will assess how the program went. The body cameras aren't costing the department anything yet, but officials say expanding the body camera program will be costly.

"To sustain a program like this, we need to have a substantial amount of funding each and every year to continue this program for ongoing storage issues," Vanic said.

We're still waiting for details on how much it would cost to outfit the department with cameras on a permanent basis.

Still, HPD hopes the program works out.

"We're hoping that the body cameras will reduce the number of complaints we have against officers, also that officers, not only officers but even the public, knowing that they're being recorded, it could change the way that they behave," Vanic said.