SENECA COUNTY, Ohio — The Seneca County Sheriff's Office deputies will eventually have body-worn cameras, paid for by competitive state grant funds divided among 112 law enforcement agencies in Ohio.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced the awards of nearly $4.9 million on Tuesday. The Seneca County Sheriff's Office, one of the 44 agencies that will use the funds to create a body camera program, said in a press release on its Facebook page that it received $58,888.82.
“Today’s announcement builds on several projects already underway as part of our Seneca County Sheriff Office’s commitment to the safety of Seneca County communities," Sheriff Fredrick Stevens said. Since taking office in 2021, our Office has launched several initiatives to help increase training, increase Deputy safety, and improve public confidence in our policing. Many Sheriff’s Offices and police departments have adopted this technology to improve the quality of policing in their communities. Placing body-worn cameras (BWCs) on Deputies improves the civility of police-citizen encounters and enhances citizen perceptions of police transparency and legitimacy.”
Multiple other law enforcement agencies in northwest Ohio received funds, including departments in Putnam County, Gibsonburg, Bryan, Northwood
The 68 other agencies will use their allocated funds to expand or upgrade existing technology, according to the press release.
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