SAGINAW, MI (WNEM) – Saginaw police will soon add another tool to their belt   a body camera.

"It’s a very small box. It looks like half the size of my cell phone, and it connects right here where your tie is," Saginaw Police Chief Bob Ruth said. "As you walk around, it picks up every single thing you’re doing."

The issue gained prominence after last year’s controversies in Missouri and New York.

Now, police across the country want to make sure they have evidence to back up their actions.

Monday night, Ruth told city council members he wants to buy a dozen cameras from Taser International.

Most of the $4,000 cost would be covered by a Homeland Security grant. That would give the department enough cameras to test through the end of summer.

The city council approved the purchase. Saginaw is now one of thousands of departments to turn on the power of video surveillance.

Chicago became the latest major police department to adopt body cameras citing benefits for both the public and its officers.

More than 4,000 departments use body cameras, and many are uploading their collected video to a cloud service. But that has some wondering who can access that video. In Hayward, CA, officers cannot edit or delete recordings, but they are deleted after 90 days unless needed as evidence.

Despite many in law enforcement touting their benefits, an ACLU attorney said body cameras both resolve and create concerns.