ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager and Chief of Police with a Request to APPROVE and to Authorization the City Manager to Accept the FY 17 BODY-WORN CAMERA POLICY AND IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) of the Department of Justice (DOJ), in the Amount of $253,005.00.
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BACKGROUND: In December 2016, the City of Peoria received notification of available funding under the Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program (PIP). The Department submitted an application in February 2017.
The intent of this grant is to help agencies develop, implement, and evaluate a BWC program as an additional tool which can be utilized as part of a comprehensive problem-solving approach to enhance officer interactions with the public and build community trust. During the first 1-9 months of the 24 month grant program, awarded agencies will review and develop policies and training programs around body-worn cameras with support from a national technical assistance provider to validate the process. Once this is complete, the agencies will be able to purchase and deploy the cameras, while continuing the training efforts and collecting outcome measures to assess the program implementation.
In applying for this grant, the Police Department partnered with Peoria County Sheriff's Office, Peoria Heights, Bartonville, Chillicothe, East Peoria and the Peoria Park District to purchase 284 cameras, leveraging economies of scale, and sharing resources such as redaction software and storage for an efficient use of taxpayer dollars. The grant requires a 50% match, requiring each agency to contribute funds based on the number of body-worn cameras requested by that agency.
The Peoria and Tazewell County State's Attorney's Offices have pledged their support of the BWC program, and will be a resource during the planning phase. Each jurisdiction identified a community partner group with whom they will work to develop appropriate com...
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