Anonymous donor buys body cams for Calif. PD

Now it's up to the department to fund the storage and other expenses for the cameras

By Ruth McCambridge
Nonprofit Quarterly

In the wake of Ferguson and other recent police shootings, the case for body cameras has been made more intensely. Stockton, California Police Chief Eric Jones has announced that an anonymous donor has provided a “blank check” to buy police personnel body cameras, an endeavor likely to cost several hundred thousand dollars. The donor reached out on his own, according to Jones, but the measure was one already generally in the department’s plans.

“The donor wants to provide for all the initial cameras for this project and we’re looking at 250,” Jones said. The cameras cost at least $700 apiece.

But as with any capital purchase, the costs of maintenance are not insignificant. “It’s not the purchasing that’s the issue; it’s the data storage and the maintenance that’s becomes the bigger cost,” said Katherine Nance of the police officers’ association—and these are costs that the donor won’t be covering.

Full Story: Anonymous Donor Buys Stockton Police Body Cameras, But…