Woodstock Wins Grant For Police Body Cameras

WOODSTOCK, GA -- The city of Woodstock will have some help from the federal government to implement a body camera program for its officers.

The city was informed by the Office of the Assistant Attorney General that its been awarded a $60,000 grant as part of the FY 16 Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program.

The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs.

Police Chief Calvin Moss informed the City Council of the news at its Monday, Oct. 10 meeting. The city was one of two in Georgia that received the grant; the Atlanta Police Department also received the grant.

Moss told Patch that initially all officers who respond to 911 calls will be outfitted with the new technology.

The total cost for the cameras and necessary equipment is just over $61,000. However, the city projects the video storage costs for the footage captured on the devices will be an additional $8,500 annually, the police chief states.

So when will this initiative come to fruition? Moss said he expects to have the cameras up and running by Jan. 1, 2017.

The award follows the discussion held during the Council's annual retreat where city leaders directed the police department to explore the possibility of a body camera program.

Since that retreat, Moss said the agency has been researching ways to fund the initiative. A Body-Worn Camera Community Working Group was created to gather feedback and help guide the police department's implementation of the initiative.

This group, the chief added, "provides a voice to important points of view in our community, including residents, business people, our youth, the elderly, faith-based organizations, and key service and government agencies."

"I would hope the message to our community is that we are keeping our community informed as we move toward implementation of body-worn cameras for officers in an open and transparent fashion," he added.

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