DIGHTON — Chief Shawn Cronin is pleased to announce that the Dighton Police Department has been awarded funding for its body-worn cameras program as part of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Office of Grants and Research (OGR) Body Worn Camera (BWC) grant program.
On Monday, Nov. 28, the Baker-Polito Administration announced nearly $2.5 million in grant funding to increase the number of law enforcement officers outfitted across the Commonwealth with body-worn cameras, and the Dighton Police Department will receive $51,415 in funding as part of the program.
With grant funding, the Dighton Police Department will be able to equip every officer in the department, including reserve officers, with a body-worn camera. The grant will also fund an on-premises server for secure video storage for the department.
“On behalf of the entire department, we thank the Baker-Polito Administration and the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security for this extremely generous grant that will help us continue to build and maintain a trusting relationship between the department and the community,” Chief Cronin said. “With the implementation of a body-worn camera program, we have the opportunity to increase transparency by recording and storing in a database all of the interactions our officers have, and if needed, we can use this footage to ensure all officers are held accountable for their actions.”
This year’s award marks the second year that state grant funding has been made available for body-worn camera programs in Massachusetts. The FY23 Body-Worn Cameras (BWC) Grant Program awarded $2,494,752.40 to a total of 32 municipal departments across Massachusetts to implement or expand BWC programs. Every department that applied for this year’s grant program received either full or partial funding through a competitive application process administered by the Office of Grants and Research (OGR), an agency that is part of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS).
In 2021, the Baker-Polito Administration awarded $4 million to help implement or expand local police departments’ body-worn camera programs as part of a 5-year, $20 million investment in the technology across Massachusetts. This year’s BWC grants represent a continuation of that commitment and will allow 27 departments — including Dighton — to introduce new body-worn camera programs in 2023, and five departments to expand existing programs.
“With these grant awards, our administration is expanding resources for local departments to expand the implementation of body-worn cameras which are an important tool to enhance accountability, improve investigations and strengthen relationships between police and the communities they serve,” Gov. Charlie Baker said in a statement. “The investment we’re making in these programs today will help create safer communities for years to come.”
For the complete list of agencies receiving funding as part of the program, click here.
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