Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on Monday unveiled a $100 million proposal to help local police agencies pay for body-worn cameras for their officers.
Scott’s bill, titled the Safer Officer and Safer Citizens Act of 2015, would provide up to $100 million in grants over five years – from federal fiscal years 2016 through 2021 – to law enforcement jurisdictions nationwide that provide a 25 percent match in the funds that they request.
“We’ve seen in the last 18 months, two years, a number of incidents around the country where had we had a video, we’d have a clear picture, or at least a more clear picture of what occurred,” Scott said Monday. “And we’ve seen the questions raised when there is no video, so I think this is the step in the right direction.”
As prerequisite for funding, Scott said local law enforcement agencies that apply for funding would have to develop policies for retaining the video captured on the body cameras and disclosure issues, McClatchyDC reports.
