It includes $19.3million to purchase body-worn cameras, $2million for training and technical assistance and $1.9million to examine the impact of their use.
Advertisement
The new grant would help officials purchase body-camera equipment and train officers once they finalize their expansion plans in the coming months, according to a Seattle police spokesman.
With a new $36,445 grant, the Waynesboro Police Department is on its way to outfitting every one of its sworn officers with a body camera.
“This vital pilot program is designed to assist local jurisdictions that are interested in exploring and expanding the use of body-worn cameras in order to enhance transparency, accountability and credibility”, said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, in a statement announcing the grants.
Some watchdog groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union in Southern California, have spoken out against the disbursement of funding for police departments, including the Los Angeles Police Department, which keep body camera footage internal.
Among those city departments whose requests for funds were denied were Des Moines, Iowa; Tallassee, Florida; and Indianapolis.
OJP is also collecting data on body-worn camera usage through surveys of law enforcement agencies.
Castro says he’s been a supporter of dashcams and body cams for several years and believes they could have provided important details following the recent highly-publicized shooting by two Bexar county deputies that left 41-year-old Gilbert Flores dead in August.
“This grant just really will allow us to move it on a little bit further and ultimately purchase the total number of cameras”, Ashley said.
The DOJ selected 73 police agencies across the country to receive the federal money, which will help buy an estimated 21,000 cameras nationwide.
Around 480 members of the police department would wear the devices.
The grant here requires a 50/50 cash or in kind match.
“We are extremely grateful the Justice Department has validated the work of the MPD and the City of Minneapolis on our body camera pilot program”, said MPD Chief Janeé Harteau.
The body-worn cameras are being developed alongside a more than $800,000 expansion of the department’s access to in-car cameras.
Advertisement
But the ACLU also suggests the body cameras can negatively impact privacy.
