WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) will release an online toolkit on how to use police body-worn cameras this Spring, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a statement on Friday.
“BJA, who is leading this work, plans to launch the Body-Worn Camera Toolkit later this spring and we will continue to update it as more information and evidence become available,” the DOJ statement read.
“Deploying this technology requires carefully designed policies and procedures, not to mention additional staff time and a close attention to legal considerations…” the DOJ statement read. “The work begun by the panel will help law enforcement agencies navigate this new terrain.”
US President Barack Obama unveiled his Body-Worn Camera Partnership Program in December to hold law enforcement more accountable for their actions following nationwide wave of demonstrations calling for an end to race-related police brutality and police killings in the United States.
The White House asked the US Congress for $263 million in funding for police body cameras and training. The program would offer a total of $75 million over three years to match US state funding for the cameras by 50 percent, helping to pay for more than 50,000 of the devices, according to a White House report on the program.
