The Chief of Police for the Houston Police Department (HPD) recommends that City Council approve an ordinance authorizing the application for and acceptance of grant funds through the Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division (CJD) FY19 Body Worn Camera Grant Program. The Body Worn Camera (BWC) Grant Program provides grant funds to assist police departments and sheriff’s offices in establishing or enhancing BWC programs.
Under the FY19 BWC Gant Program, CJD will provide 80% of associated costs for equipment. There is a required 20% cash match which consists of costs for servers for storage of BWC videos. HPD has applied for $47,000.00 in grant funds, and the City will make a cash match contribution of $9,400.00. The project period will begin September 1, 2018 through August 31, 2019 for a total of 12 months.
HPD plans to purchase approximately 47 body worn cameras and assorted accessories. The BWCs will be purchased through the City’s contract with Enforcement Video, LLC d/b/a Watch Guard Video that was previously approved by City Council on November 18, 2015 (Ordinance No. 2015-1156).
Fiscal Notes:
Funding for this item is included in the FY2019 Adopted Budget. Therefore, no Fiscal Note is required as stated in the Financial Policy.
No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.
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Art Acevedo
Chief of Police