DeWine announces body camera grants

VW independent staff and submitted information

COLUMBUS — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has awarded more than $4.7 million in grant funding to 109 local law enforcement agencies for expenses associated with launching or maintaining body-worn camera programs. The grants were announced on Monday.

“Body cameras have quickly become a necessary tool for modern policing,” Governor DeWine said. “With these grants, more than four dozen law enforcement agencies that have never had body cameras before will be able to invest in this technology to help protect their officers and offer transparency to the public.”

Of the 109 local law enforcement agencies receiving grants, 49 will use funding to create new body-worn camera programs. The other 60 agencies will dedicate funding toward expanding or upgrading existing technology. In total, this funding will help agencies purchase around 1,700 new body cameras, as well as computer equipment, software, video storage, and more.

The list of grants does not include the Van Wert Police Department or the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Department. The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office received a $43,832 grant and the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office was awarded a $67,530 grant.

Governor DeWine prioritized the creation of the new Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program in the state’s 2022-2023 operating budget, which was passed by the Ohio General Assembly last year. The grant program totals $10 million over the biennium, with the remaining grants to be offered in fiscal year 2023. Additional body-worn camera funding will also be offered as part of the $250 million that Governor DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly dedicated to law enforcement in December.

“This is just the start of many new ways we’ll be helping law enforcement with state-of-the-art tools and innovative programs to fight crime and protect the public,” DeWine said.

The Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program is part of Governor DeWine’s ongoing efforts to ensure that most, if not all, of Ohio’s law enforcement agencies have body cameras. In response to a directive from the Governor, the Ohio State Highway Patrol began outfitting troopers across the state with body-worn cameras last year.

The use of body cameras is not mandated in Ohio, and it is estimated that up to two-thirds of all law enforcement agencies in the state have not provided their officers with cameras due to equipment and video storage costs.