City police may soon have new equipment.

Laurinburg City Council will consider purchasing new guns and new video equipment for the Laurinburg police force at its monthly meeting tonight.

Neither proposal will cost the city a dime, according to Police Chief John Evans.

In a deal negotiated by top police officials, the current duty weapons, Glocks from 1993, will be declared surplus by the city and each officer will buy his gun for $327 each. The proceeds from this will go towards purchasing new weapons, with the difference in cost being made up by giving the gun company certain guns that have been seized by police but have not been disposed of.

North Carolina police organizations recommend that guns be replaced every five to 10 years. The recommendation is for two reasons. First, newer weapons tend to be in better working order. Second, they are under warranty which covers any mishap.

The police department is also looking at using $85,000 set aside in a special account to update the video surveillance systems inside patrol cars. The money came from assets seized by Laurinburg officers.

The new systems will be entirely digital and will upload to a server at the police station as a car drives by. Currently, the vehicles are equipped with outdated VHS recorders.

While still effective in court, Evans said maintenance on these systems is expensive and VHS tapes are in short supply.

The new systems will be cheaper to maintain and not require the large quantity of tapes, which are both costly and bulky.

Evans said these video cameras are invaluable to the police department as they act both as evidence in criminal hearings and as a method of defense should someone try and take action against an officer.

The December meeting of the Laurinburg City Council will be held in the council chambers above the police department at 7 p.m.