Dane County Executive Melissa Agard’s proposed 2027 budget includes $3 million to expand the Sheriff’s Office body-camera program, with 200 cameras planned for deputies who regularly interact with the public. The County Board of Supervisors must approve the budget before the expansion can move forward. The cameras would be issued to patrol, traffic, supervisory and civil-process deputies, along with the equipment and software needed to operate them. If approved, the Sheriff’s Office hopes to begin deploying the system in 2027. The proposal builds on a pilot launched in the department’s West Precinct in 2024, where about 32 cameras are in use. A community focus group reviewing that program generally supported body cameras but also raised privacy concerns. Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said the proposed cameras would include push-to-talk translation in as many as 50 languages. He said the feature could help deputies communicate during encounters in rural areas without waiting for an in-person or phone interpreter. The system would also offer tools to blur faces, license plates, addresses and other personal details in recordings, and to mute sensitive audio, including information about a person’s medical condition, Barrett said. The cameras would use artificial-intelligence assistance, though the Sheriff’s Office has not specified how all AI features would be used. Asked about the risk of errors or misinterpretation, Barrett said deputies would remain responsible for checking the technology’s accuracy and ensuring recordings reflect what happened. The department is still developing its policy for the expanded program. Barrett said officials are revising a draft policy first prepared in 2024 and incorporating recommendations before deployment. The final rules will shape how the cameras are used and how privacy protections are applied; the proposal itself does not yet establish those details.