Chief Edward J. Walsh is pleased to announce that the Taunton Police Department has been awarded $162,488 in state grant funds allocated by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Office of Grants and Research (OGR) Body-Worn Camera (BWC) grant program.
With the use of grant funding, the Taunton Police Department will be able to purchase body-worn cameras for members of the department. The grant also will fund an on-premises server for secure video storage for the department.
“Building trust is critical to maintaining positive relationships with our community members,” said Chief Walsh, “A body-worn camera program is an important way to exemplify to the Taunton community our continued efforts to implement best policing practices within our department.”
The Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Grant Program will equip municipal police departments across the Commonwealth with body-worn cameras. Approximately $20 million in funding will be used to purchase 9,000 cameras during the next five years.
The Baker-Polito Administration included funding for this program as part of its FY22 Capital Budget Plan. The grant application process requires each municipal department to submit a comprehensive deployment plan that describes a deliberate and phased plan to deploy the technology, as well as specific ways the proposed program will enhance the agency’s mission.
President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing placed a priority on body camera research and camera programs. The Task Force’s final report indicated that officers wearing body cameras had “87.5 percent fewer incidents of use of force and 59 percent fewer complaints than the officers not wearing the cameras.”
According to a recent poll by the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, only 10 percent of Massachusetts municipal departments operate a body-worn camera program. However, the same poll indicated that 75% of departments in major cities and smaller communities are interested in starting a program.
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