City of Utica Police Department BWC Expansion Program

The Utica Police Department (UPD) is pleased to submit an application for the FY 2022 Body-worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program to Support Law Enforcement Agencies under Category 1 funding. The UPD is located in the City of Utica, County of Oneida, in the State of New York. The UPD is responsible for the safety and security of all City of Utica residents and visitors. The mission of the UPD is to bolster community confidence and trust of law enforcement by providing impartial, ethical, and professional law enforcement service and protection to the City of Utica.
 

        The UPD provides policing services for the City of Utica, which houses 65,283 residents and encompasses 16.76 square miles. The City of Utica is very diverse in terms of both its demographics and landscape. The City serves as a melting pot for numerous cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds, and is made up of many residential communities, business districts, a revitalized downtown area, and portions of wetlands surrounding a river. The use of body-worn cameras within this agency ultimately benefits not only City of Utica residents, but those traveling through the city, citizens who come in contact with the UPD, those in custody of the UPD, and employees of the UPD.
 

        The UPD is composed of three divisions, the Uniform Patrol Division, the Criminal Investigations Division, and the Support Division, which each have their own specialized units. Currently, the UPD has 140 body-worn cameras (BWCs) that are reserved for the Uniform Patrol Division, as they have the most contact with the public. With this funding, the UPD will purchase 172 BWCs to equip all officers. The UPD will expand its current BWC program to replace the 140 BWCs that are nearing their end of life and move to full implementation by purchasing an additional 32 BWCs so that every officer has access to one while on duty. This would cost approximately $731,026. Under this proposed project, there would be no subrecipient agency to receive any funding for BWC purchase or lease.
 

        Expansion of the current BWC program would enhance the UPD’s mission and values. The desired outcome is to nurture the law enforcement relationship and trust within the community while providing the best possible policing. This is accomplished through UPD’s thorough commitment to service and professionalism, community involvement, responsibility, and accountability.