Grant to help equip police with body cams

Auglaize County is one of 109 law enforcement agencies included in the $4.7 million grant announced Monday that will fund body cameras for Ohio officers.

The sheriff’s office will receive $67,530, a bit less than the $90,000 requested. It was noted the body cameras are a new program for the local department; Mercer County will receive $43,842.46 toward its existing program.

“We put in for over $90,000,” Auglaize County Sheriff Mike Vorhees said. “(This grant) is a huge chunk. That will go a long way.”

He is hopeful that with those funds they will be able to acquire cameras for all full-time deputies.

“I’m very happy that we have something like this,” Vorhees said. “It’s another tool in the toolbox that we can use to make better cases.”

Governor Mike DeWine awarded the grant funds to law enforcement agencies for expenses associated with launching or maintaining body-worn camera programs.

“Body cameras have quickly become a necessary tool for modern policing,” 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.

DeWine prioritized the creation of the new Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program in the state’s 20222023 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-theart tools and innovative programs to fight crime and protect the public,” DeWine said.

The Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program is part of the governor’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. Ohio’s Office of Criminal Justice Services, which is administering the grant program, received $16 million worth of grant requests for this round of funding. All qualifying agencies that applied for grants to establish new body-worn camera programs received funding in this round and the remaining funds went to existing programs to upgrade aging cameras, add storage capacity, or hire record-retention personnel. Qualifying agencies that applied but did not receive a grant are expected to be funded through future grant awards.

The announcement builds on several initiatives already underway as part of DeWine’s commitment to the safety of Ohio’s communities.