Sen. Scott To Reintroduce Body Camera Legislation

Washington– U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) will soon reintroduce his Safer Officers and Safer Citizens Act, which will help provide state, local and tribal police departments with needed resources to outfit officers with body-worn cameras. As the nation recognizes National Police Week this week, Senator Scott continues to advocate for the increased use of body-worn cameras, which studies have shown help keep both police officers and their communities safer.

“As the use of body cameras continues to rise across the nation, we see more and more just how important they can be in efforts to keep both police officers and the communities they serve safer,” Scott said. “Our nation has experienced too much pain and heartache from tragedies that could have been more clearly explained if body cameras were in use. While there is no panacea, body cameras are without a doubt a positive step forward, and I will continue to advocate for this important legislation with my colleagues in Congress.”

The Safer Officers and Safer Citizens Act authorizes a new grant program at the U.S. Department of Justice that will allow departments who have developed policies and procedures regarding body-worn cameras to apply for funds to aid in the purchase and initial setup costs of their body-worn camera program. The program will be fully offset, and more details will be released upon the bill’s reintroduction.

Over the past two years, Senator Scott has worked with more than a dozen groups, including law enforcement associations, civil rights organizations and privacy advocates to craft legislation that would best help to keep our officers and communities safe.