The American Civil Liberties Union is looking to bring a Texas version of a smart phone application called "Police Tape" to the state later this year.

The app works by recording both audio and video during encounters you have with a police officer via your smart phone.

"It then sends the recording to a website which is then viewed by ACLU folks, who try to determine whether or not there has been any kind of violation of the person's rights," said Dottie Griffith, ACLU Texas Public Education Director.

The app goes black on your phone when it is in use so that no one can detect it's there, and was originally launched by the ACLU affiliate in New Jersey with great success.

"Right now were doing our research and development on it. We're obviously researching all the legal implications of this, and also the technology; how we can make it happen," said Griffith.

The ACLU is looking to launch the Texas version of the app by September so that citizens have the same tools police officers utilize to guarantee their rights aren't violated.

"There are those instances in which a police officer will tell a person they don't have a right to record," said Griffith. "And that in most cases, as long as the investigation isn't being interfered with, is not correct. So we want to give people that kind of mechanism for police accountability."

By: Marissa A. Wagner