FINDLAY, Ohio — Editor's note: The above report first aired Feb. 21, 2021.
According to the governor's office, an estimated two-thirds of all Ohio police departments are not equipped with body camera systems.
Recently, one of Ohio's larger communities has been working to change that for their officers.
When Myranda Beach, who recently moved to Findlay, heard her new law enforcement agency has never had body cameras for their officers, she was shocked.
"I was surprised. It was a little alarming, I wasn't aware of that," Beach said.
The Findlay Police Department hopes to join other departments in equipping their officers with body cameras. They have spent the summer testing the equipment.
Captain James Mathias is participating in the testing group, and says integrating both bodycams and dash cams is a complicated and expensive process.
"It's not just the price of the cameras and the storage," Mathias said. "It's redacting, putting it out to the prosecutors and public requests. So there's a lot of things that goes into it, and then the costs obviously goes along with [it] that's associated, too."
But despite the cost, they hope to eventually purchase a body camera for all 67 officers and install dash cams in all 22 marked patrol cars.
"We think the full system gives total responsibility to everybody; the officers and the citizens," Mathias said. "It captures everything from what they see on a traffic stop versus going into a house."
The city of Findlay hopes to make a decision on which system to purchase in time for the cost to be reimbursed by the State of Ohio's Body-Worn Camera Grant Program.
Some residents of Findlay said it was a long overdue upgrade.
"Clean cut, it shows you what's going on in the streets that we live in," Findlay resident Corey Morton said. "So I definitely think that should be implemented for sure." Morton also wasn't aware FPD had neither body nor dash cameras.
"That's kind of the fair way and accuracy, of course, I think is important and I'm all down for protecting the people," Beach said. "If that's their job I don't know why there'd be an issue with having cameras."
Mathias said FPD will be testing their third option for possible body cameras through the month of September and will then take those findings to city council.
As of right now there is no set date for when Findlay's city council will make the decision to purchase those body cameras and dash cams.