Dover Police officers will wear body-worn cameras thanks to $58,000 in grant funding.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services awarded nearly $4.6 million to 21 law enforcement agencies across the state.
Dover Police Chief Paul Bantum says body-worn cameras will be a first for the department.
“The cameras will be new for the department. We have dash cams, but we did not have body cameras, so this is a new program for us. We’ll be able to outfit all of our officers, that’ll be 24.”
Bantum notes that having these cameras is a two-fold benefit, safety and training.
“Obviously we want to be transparent with the public and it’s always an advantage to have that view of a situation when a complaint arises or a criminal case it’s used as evidence for presentation in courts. We can go back, like our dash cams, the supervisors can go back, the chief can go back, and review any court cases, traffic stops, and it can be utilized later for training purposes. It’s definitely an advantage.”
This is the fourth round of funding for the Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program.
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