White House offers $263 million in funding for police body cameras
In case it wasn't glaringly clear, police accountability is a major concern these days -- and the White House is convinced that technology can help solve the problem. It's now promising up to $263 million in matched funding for law enforcement agencies that want to buy body cameras for their officers. About $75 million of the fund is for purchasing the cameras themselves (up to 50,000 of them); the rest is devoted to storage, training and outreach programs meant to renew the level of trust between cops and the communities they serve. This is just one part of a much larger solution that also includes an overhaul of how the government distributes military gear, but it could make a big difference if it provides video evidence whenever there are complaints of excessive force or rights abuses.
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