Senator McCaskill offers a glimmer of hope …
My office has a solid record of leveraging tax dollars in order to meet the ever-increasing financial needs. Body cameras for police would be an additional cost to the city and is not currently in the FY16 Budget.
A legal brief is posted on my website establishing the legal support for utilizing ward capital for body camera funding. The city would only need short-term use of as little as $50,000 per ward to fund the cameras.
After I initiated a discussion on funding body cameras for police, my suggestions were hailed by many in the community as the right thing to do. I believe good policing should not suffer for lack of funding.
Body cameras worn by police have proven to be a good tool for the police and the community because they provide both transparency and accountability. Body cameras create a record of interaction between the police and the public which is supposed to benefit both parties.
While all three members of the Board of E&A agreed that the city should invest in body cameras for police, there remained the question of funding. The next day I received a call from U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill’s Office offering help to secure funding for body cams for police. I immediately felt a glimmer of hope and help was on the way.
Her staff offered to work with my office to navigate the process and find funding. We are scheduled to meet with them on Wednesday, September2.
Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay joins Senator McCaskill in support of providing funding for body cameras for police with a bill in congress. State Senator Jamilah Nasheed also pledge to file legislation to mandate and fund body cameras for police in Missouri.
Darlene Green is comptroller for the City of St. Louis and one of three votes on the city’s chief fiscal body, the Board of Estimate & Apportionment (E&A).
