ACTON — Chief James Cogan is pleased to announce that the Acton Police Department received a $135,751 grant to help fund a body-worn camera program within the Acton Police Department.
The Healey-Driscoll Administration awarded over $3.6 million in grants from the Fiscal Year 2024 Body-Worn Cameras (BWC) Grant Program to 52 local police departments across the state on Monday, and the Acton Police Department was among them.
This year’s awards mark the third year that state grant funding has been made available for body-worn camera programs in Massachusetts.
“These grants provide local police agencies with resources to implement technology that strengthens police-community relations while improving investigations and advancing the fundamental principles of transparency and accountability,” said Gov. Maura Healey. “This investment reflects our Administration’s commitment to increasing public safety, promoting best practices among law enforcement, and nurturing strong relationships between police and the communities they serve.”
The FY23 Body-Worn Cameras (BWC) Grant Program awarded over $2.4 million to a total of 32 municipal departments across Massachusetts to implement or expand BWC programs. In 2021, the state awarded $4 million to help implement or expand local police department’s 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 52 departments — including Acton — to introduce new body-worn camera programs in 2023.
Acton Police have already begun a pilot program — which was launched in August — involving five patrol officers and a supervisor, each of whom volunteered to wear body-worn cameras as they go about their duties.
The officers work on all three of the department’s shifts, and will activate their cameras during all interactions with the public that are a result of a call for service, or any investigative or enforcement activity. Officers will consider the expectation of privacy when activating the body-worn camera in certain areas, such as private residences or hospitals.
The purpose of the pilot program is to test various cameras as the department seeks to find a vendor to supply additional cameras for a more comprehensive program.
Funding for the pilot program was approved by Acton Town Meeting, which appropriated $100,000 to start the program. The additional grant funding will pay for body and vehicle cameras for the entire department.
“We are grateful to the state for this important funding, which will enable us to fully implement our body-worn camera program once our pilot program is complete,” said Chief Cogan.
The pilot program is expected to be completed in the next few months.
Prior to the launch of the pilot program, the department completed research into policy and best practices, and developed formal policies for camera use and data storage
President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing placed a priority on body camera research and camera programs. The Task Force’s final report indicated that officers wearing body cameras had “87.5 percent fewer incidents of use of force and 59 percent fewer complaints than the officers not wearing the cameras.”
For the complete list of agencies receiving funding as part of the program, click here.
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