The Mentor Police Department was recently awarded two Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) grants, including the 2021 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) in the amount of $37,833.75 and the Body-Worn Camera Grant for $53,273.75, totaling $91,107.50. The grant award funds will be used to purchase 40 Motorola WatchGuard V300 body-worn cameras (BWC). The objective of the grant request was to ensure that 100% of police-civilian interactions are recorded for the purpose of transparency, accountability, and to serve as a valuable resource for officer complaints and police investigations.
The new cameras offer an extended battery life to adequately serve patrol officers during their 12-hour shifts, and advanced technology including high-definition video and distortion correction to better document calls for service. The new cameras also integrate with existing technology, including the WatchGuard 4RE dash cameras, which allows the footage of both the BWC and the dash camera to be aggregated, synchronized, and viewed from multiple vantage points as one event through an online platform.
Mentor Police have worn bodycams since 2018. Dashcams have been in service since 2013.
A 25% match in the amount of $12,616.25 was required and approved by City Council for the JAG award. The original grant request for the BWC award was $87,870, and the original request for the JAG award was $75,667.
The City of Mentor currently manages $3.4 million in Federal, State, and local grant funds. Among those, the Mentor Police Department is currently managing grants from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and the Ohio Department of Public Safety. MPD has previously been awarded the State Justice Assistance Grant.