NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A new federal grant will help the New Orleans Police Department expand its use of body-worn cameras.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite said in a Tuesday news release that the Justice Department has awarded $232,000 to New Orleans police to expand the use of the cameras and explore their effect on the department's work.
The Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) $20 million Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Pilot Implementation Program was announced in May. Nationally, it includes $19.3 million to purchase body-worn cameras, $2 million for training and technical assistance and $1.9 million to examine the impact of their use.
The City will provide matching funds that will be combined with the federal grant to purchase 250 body-worn cameras.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch also announced this week that the City of New Orleans will receive an estimated $1.875 million over three years to fund 15 officers through the COPS Hiring Program (CHP).
“Public safety is our top priority, and federal investments like these are critical to helping us build a stronger and more effective police department,” said Mayor Landrieu. “These grants will help us to put more officers on the streets and add more body-worn cameras to the program, which has proven to be an effective policing tool. We will not rest until NOPD is among the best police departments in the country. I also want to personally thank Congressman Richmond who has worked tirelessly to secure federal investments like these that make our community safer; we are very grateful.”
“This is a major investment that will help us to continue to grow the department and provide our officers with the tools they need to do their jobs,” said NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison. “I want to thank Congressman Richmond, the Department of Justice and the NOPD grant writing staff for their efforts in bringing these needed resources to the department.”
CHP provides grants to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to hire or rehire community policing officers. The program provides salaries and benefits for officer and deputy hires for three years.
The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1995, COPS has invested over $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 127,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training, and technical assistance.
