Incoming Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced today that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will spend $20 million to provide body cameras to police, mostly in major cities. Of that sum, $17 million will purchase the equipment, while the remaining $3 million will cover training and effectiveness evaluation programs.
"Body-worn cameras hold tremendous promise for enhancing transparency, promoting accountability, and advancing public safety for law enforcement officers and the communities they serve," said Lynch.
Her view echoes calls from many police misconduct protesters to make body camera use universal among police as an imperfect but important practical reform. Earlier this week, one of the lawyers representing Freddie Gray's family said that cameras could "work to increase civility like nothing you've ever seen," asking, "Can you imagine if a police officer who was otherwise inclined to be violent knows that his behavior is going to be recorded in intimate detail?"
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