OHIO — Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, announced the fourth round of the Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant program recipients.
Through the program, Ohio’s Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services will award almost $4.6 million to law enforcement agencies across the state for body camera equipment and the associated costs of the technology.
In the latest round, 131 agencies will receive a grant award. Of those, 21 will use the funding to create new programs and 110 agencies will dedicate the funds to upgrading the existing technology.
“Body-worn cameras have become an essential tool in law enforcement, and I’m pleased that we can help more local agencies equip their officers with them,” said DeWine. “There has been high demand for this funding, and my executive budget proposes to continue this grant program in the next biennium.”
There were $14.4 million worth of grant requests for this round of funding, and all agencies were looking who were looking to establish new programs were given priority. The remaining funds went to programs that needed to upgrade aging cameras, add storage capacity or hire personnel.
DeWine created the grant program in 2021. More than 400 law enforcement agencies have received funding.
