EDINBURG - The Edinburg Police Department is upgrading body cameras to increase the battery life of the devices.

Police Chief David White said existing body cameras usually last four hours during an eight-hour shift.

The department has used the body cameras for about six months.

White said the upgrades will increase the life span of the body cameras.

“There’s been things we haven’t captured. That’s where we learned that it’s the battery life. First, we investigate and figure out what happened here,” he said. “It was the battery that will die on the officer. If it only makes half his day, we have to start bringing them in or off the road and try to recharge the battery and that’s not cost-effective for the city.”

White added the governor’s office pays 80 percent of the price of the new body cameras through a grant.