August 4, 2022 (Washington, D.C.) – Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today announced the Alexandria Police Department has been awarded $600,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs’ (OJB) Byrne Discretionary Community Project Grant to support the broad-scale implementation of a Body-worn Camera (BWC) program. Beyer secured this funding as a Community Project Funding request that was included in the Omnibus spending bill which passed on a broad bipartisan vote in the House and Senate earlier this year.

“I’m proud to announce that the DOJ’S Office of Justice Programs has awarded the funds to support this critically important initiative in our community,” said Beyer. “Body worn cameras are an important and necessary tool for bringing more transparency, accountability, and trust in policing in our communities.”

The $600,000 grant assistance will support the purchase of BWC technology to provide for 25 to 50 body worn cameras for the Alexandria Police Department with a focus on high-impact shifts and high-need areas. The Alexandria Police Department, the only full-service law enforcement agency in Northern Virginia that does not have a BWC program and one of the last remaining in the National Capital Region, introduced the launch of their pilot BWC program as part of the City’s fiscal year 2023 operating budget.

Body worn cameras were one of the practices recommended by the federal 21st Century Policing Report.