Monterey County Sheriff’s Office awarded $600,000 grant for body cameras
MONTEREY COUNTY, CALIF. (KION-TV)- The Monterey County Sheriff's Office is being rewarded $600,000 for body worn cameras via a grant from the United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
According to officials, the Sheriff's Office submitted a grant proposal in April to the BJA for consideration of funds. The proposal detailed the overall objectives of a body camera program for the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.
"Will allow us a greater level of transparency. Because when let's say, if a complaint is made, we'll be able to go in and look and evaluate what occurred through the body worn camera," said Keith Boyd, Undersheriff for the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.
On September 30th, The Monterey County Sheriff's Office was awarded the $600,000 grant to support the program. Officials say the award will be used to assist in purchasing and implementing body worn cameras to outfit their patrol and corrections bureaus.
In response to the grant, Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto stated:
“This grant award will not only allow the Sheriff’s Office to expand its capabilities during criminal investigations but will also allow the Sheriff’s Office to expand on its efforts to build community trust while providing increased transparency and oversight of our operations.”
Some People in the community say although other departments already have body cams, its better late than never to have them at MCSO.
"I think it's a positive thing because it shows there's accountability. It shows exactly what's taking place," said David Diaz from Salinas.
Camila Gomez who lives in Monterey County says that having body cameras on deputies will hold the Sheriff's Office accountable.
"I would say it is because there's a lot of incidents with police recently and just how the way they treat other people and the power they think they have," Gomez said.
Undersheriff Boyd said that the goal is to have deputies wear body cameras by 2024. Boyd told KION that they are looking for a vendor to provide body cameras to the agency.
