Commissioners Court Meeting

Issue viewing agenda items? Click here to switch to the old format.

Return to the Minutes Page

Meeting Date:	09/12/2016
Body Worn Camera Grant Award
Submitted for:	Martin Cuellar	Submitted By:	Anita Guerra
Department:	Sheriff

Subject:

Discussion and possible action to authorize the acceptance of a Body-Worn Camera Program grant award from the Criminal Justice Division (CJD) Office of Governor (OOG) in the amount of $22,707 for equipment and associated accessories/supplies for patrol officers working at the Webb County Sheriff’s Office and authorizing the County Judge to execute all relevant documents; and any other matters incident thereto. This grant requires a Twenty-Five (25%) percent cash match. [Account #170-9501-9301 (Transfer out from Forfeiture Funds)]

Issue: Tragic local and national events have eroded public trust in law enforcement agencies and their officers. Recent violence has again focused attention on controversial confrontations between certain citizens and law enforcement officials; and, this violence has further fomented distrust between community members and the officers sworn to protect them.

Solution: Grant application to leverage federal resources so that the Webb County Sheriff’s Office will be able increase transparency and accountability through the grant-funded implementation of a comprehensive, holistic body-worn camera system for its sworn officer force.

Result: The Webb County Sheriff’s Office will be able to achieve greater transparency and accountability in its service and protection of the Laredo/Webb County public and taxpayers while leveraging federal grant funding to implement a complex technological system that would otherwise require substantial initial start-up costs to be paid through the Webb County budget.

Background:

The U.S. Department of Justice has concluded that body-worn cameras (BWCs) are an important tool that could be an integrated part of a jurisdiction’s holistic problem-solving and community-engagement strategy, helping to increase both trust and communication between the police and the communities they serve. Body-worn cameras (BWCs) can be highly effective, providing an inalterable audio and visual record of interactions that can capture empirical evidence in the event of a crime, police-citizen interaction, or use-of-force incident. Preliminary research by the U.S. Department of Justice indicates that departments that have effectively implemented body-worn cameras (BWC) programs have received fewer public complaints, file fewer use-of-force reports, and show a reduction in adjudicated complaints resulting in a decrease of settlements.

Previous Court Action:

The authorization to submit this grant was given by the Webb County Commissioners’ Court at the meeting held on March 29, 2016.

Fiscal Impact

Budget Account Number:	To Be Determined
Funding Source:	Grant
Balance:	Not Applicable
Financial Impact:
$22,707 grant funding $ 5,677 cash match [Account #170-9501-9301 (Transfer out from Forfeiture Funds)]

Attachments
Grant Award Notice
Resolution
Receipt of Letter of Intent