Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that $5 million in grant funding is now available to help local law enforcement agencies invest in body camera equipment and pay for associated expenses.

A total of $10 million has been allotted to the Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program as part of the 2022-2023 operating budget.

The remainder of the grant funds will be available next year.

Governor DeWine prioritized the creation of the new Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program in the state’s 2022-2023 operating budget that was passed by the Ohio General Assembly in June.

The program will assist local law enforcement agencies with costs related to camera equipment, video storage, public record management personnel, and more.

The use of body cameras is not mandated in Ohio.

It is estimated that up to two-thirds of all law enforcement agencies in the state, primarily Ohio’s smaller agencies, do not outfit their officers with cameras due to equipment and video storage costs.

The Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS), which administers the new grant program, began accepting applications on Tuesday.

Applications will be accepted until October 8th.

Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn has said that body cameras are something they consider on a regular basis and are not opposed to.

However, she said the cost of the technology and the ongoing data storage is quite expensive and, as things stand now, that cost is not justified, saying they don’t get many complaints or have many issues.

Mayor Muryn said a lot of the incidents that make headlines across the country can primarily be avoided with the proper training.

She said the Findlay Police Department does a lot of training on de-escalation and the proper procedure for physical altercations.