Special to
the Camden News
The City of East Camden has recently been awarded a $3,100 grant from the Public Safety Equipment Grant Program which was established by Act 786 of 2021 passed by the 93rd Arkansas General Assembly. The grant program allows law enforcement agencies, detention centers and corrections agencies to receive funding for equipment that aids in improving trust and relationships between the agencies and their communities.
On September 1, 2021, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced an investment of $500,000 for the grant program. Under Act 786 agencies will have an opportunity to strengthen the bridge between law enforcement and the communities they serve by purchasing nonlethal public safety equipment that may include body cameras and bullet-proof vests.
All law enforcement agencies in Arkansas were encouraged to apply for this funding opportunity. Mayor Angie McAdoo stated she is very grateful for this funding opportunity to advance the technology within our city's police department. With this grant the ECPD will be able to equip all of its officers with the latest technology in body worn cameras as well as the software and on-premises server hardware and accommodating storage system.
Mayor McAdoo wants ECPD to be recognized as a department advancing in technology and improving the public safety in her small town. She also stated that with the state of the art technology in body cams, our goals are to promote a sense of accountability and transparency throughout the department as well as provide a means of downloading and storing body camera video as evidence in aiding prosecution.
Mayor McAdoo added "Keeping on top of technology can be very expensive especially for small towns like East Camden and we are very fortunate to have this opportunity for advancement."