(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today announced additional support for the use of body-worn cameras by local law enforcement.
As part of the fourth round of the Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program, the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) will award nearly $4.6 million in funding to help local law enforcement agencies across Ohio pay for body-worn camera equipment and associated costs.
A total of 131 law enforcement agencies are receiving a grant award, including 21 agencies that will use funding to create new body-worn camera programs and 110 agencies that will dedicate funding toward expanding or upgrading 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 Governor DeWine.
“There has been high demand for this funding, and my executive budget proposes to continue this grant program in the next biennium.”
OCJS received $14.4 million worth of grant requests for this round of funding. All qualifying agencies that applied for grants to establish new body-worn camera programs were given priority, and the remaining funds went to existing programs to upgrade aging cameras, add storage capacity, or hire record-retention personnel.
Governor DeWine created the Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program in 2021. In total, more than 400 law enforcement agencies have received funding as part of the initiative.
