Romeoville police officers to be equipped with body cameras out in the field

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- Some south suburban police are being equipped with body cameras for when they are out in the field.

The Romeoville Police Department announced Friday that they have purchased 70 cameras with the help of a $445,000 state grant.

The move comes after the State of Illinois mandated that communities with populations under 100,000 (which includes Romeoville) have body cameras on their police officers by 2025. Romeoville PD officials said they are able to deploy their cameras roughly two years ahead of the deadline in large part due to the state grant.

The Village of Romeoville said they believe transparency and accountability are essential in local government and hope these cameras will not only do that, but also bolster safety and security for the officers and the public, according to the village manager.

"We welcome body cameras and the transparency that comes with them," said Romeoville Police Chief Ken Kroll. "We believe these cameras will provide another level of partnership with the community and will become just another tool we use to do our job."

Implementing body cameras is just one of the many technological tools the police department has integrated over the past few years. In addition to the body cameras, all patrol and traffic squad cars have been outfitted with dash cameras and license plate reading cameras have been installed at various intersections around the community, officials said.