{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.coons.senate.gov/news/press-releases/sen-coons-applauds-630k-in-federal-funding-for-police-departments-body-worn-camera-program", "Sen. Coons applauds $630K in federal funding for police department\u2019s body-worn camera program", "2020-10-16", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Christopher Coons", "C001088", "www.coons.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WILMINGTON, Del.  Today, U.S. Sen. Chris\r\nCoons, Sen. Tom Carper, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, and Attorney General Kathy\r\nJennings applauded a $630,000 federal grant to fund the Wilmington Police\r\nDepartment's body-worn camera program.  Earlier this year, members of the congressional\r\ndelegation wrote letters to the U.S. Department of Justice's\r\nBureau of Justice Assistance, signaling their support of WPD's application for the Fiscal Year 2020\r\nBody-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program to Support Law Enforcement\r\nAgencies.\"The Department of Justice's $630,000 award to help fund the Wilmington\r\nPolice Department's body-worn camera program is one of many deliberate\r\ninvestments essential to building mutual trust between law enforcement and more\r\nimportantly, the communities that they serve,\"said Sen. Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary\r\nCommittee and Senate Law Enforcement Caucus.\"The residents\r\nof Wilmington and officers with WPD deserve enhancements to policing operations\r\nthat strengthen accountability, trust, and transparency. Time after time, our\r\nnation has witnessed tragedies that have resulted in the unfortunate loss of\r\nlives, particularly in Black and Brown communities, and these body-worn cameras\r\nwill serve as an invaluable tool for justice.\"\"It's clear that body-worn cameras help law\r\nenforcement gain the community's trust through transparency in policing, and\r\nDelaware's congressional delegation worked hard to get this funding from the\r\nU.S. Department of Justice to ensure every officer has this technology,\" said\r\nSen. Carper. \"We heard from constituents loud and clear  this is a\r\nnecessary tool in the toolbox for our law enforcement that will assist the\r\nWilmington Police Department in advancing relations between law enforcement,\r\nour city's residents, and the surrounding region.\"\"As part of the social justice movement across the country, we've been\r\nforced to confront the way that we police our communities and neighborhoods.\r\nOne of the most effective and widely accepted policy solutions to help improve\r\npolicing is the use of body-worn cameras. We've already taken action at the\r\nfederal level through the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act\r\nand have been working with our local partners,\" said Rep. Blunt\r\nRochester. \"In working with the City, community members, and police\r\nagencies, everyone agreed that the use of body-worn cameras would help improve\r\noutcomes. I want to thank Mayor Purzycki and Chief Tracy for their leadership\r\nin establishing the program in Wilmington and am grateful that at a time when\r\nthe City is facing revenue challenges, the federal government can help provide\r\nresources for this critical program. I look forward to continuing to work with\r\nthe City and with police agencies across the State to further the use of body-worn\r\ncameras in Delaware.\"\"This is a great day for Wilmington,\" said\r\nAttorney General Jennings. \"Body cameras will make a real difference\r\nin our City, and Chief Tracy, Mayor Purzycki, and our congressional delegation\r\ndeserve enormous credit for securing this funding. The next step is clear:\r\nfunding and deploying body-worn cameras on every officer across our State  and\r\nI am grateful for Wilmington's leadership by example.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.coons.senate.gov/news/press-releases/sen-coons-applauds-630k-in-federal-funding-for-police-departments-body-worn-camera-program"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8259799797087908, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}