The Ottumwa Police Department will be receiving a grant in order to obtain body cameras, according to Chief Chad Farrington.
The department was one of the agencies chosen for the grant by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), through Justice & Security Strategies, Inc.
Farrington says body-worn cameras make it possible for the department to provide a higher level of transparency, accountability, and safety to the citizens of Ottumwa. The police department will receive reimbursement funds to cover 50% of the cost to purchase 40 body-worn cameras that will be available to every officer in the department. The amount of grant funds available to the department will be $21,930.
BJA selected Justice & Security Strategies, Inc. (JSS) to administer a competitive micro-grant program to small, rural, and tribal law enforcement agencies seeking to initiate or expand a body-worn camera program and provide customized training and technical assistance to micro-grantees through a cooperative agreement.
