La Crosse County Sheriff receives body camera grant

The U.S. Department of Justice-bureau of Justice Assistance awarded the La Crosse County Sheriff’s Office a $40,000 grant to implement a Body Worn Camera (BWC) for the local department.

“While I have complete trust in the integrity of the men and women that serve in the Sheriff’s Office, this grant will allow us to implement another layer of transparency for the public that we serve,” Sheriff Jeff Wolf said. “With the rapid improvements in today’s technology, the Body Worn Cameras have become a necessity for law enforcement and correctional work. While they do not replace good work out staff does, they will certainly supplement their efforts.”

The BWC program will work in concert with the current Mobile Camera system that is already in marked squad cars. This makes video retention and answering open records requests easier and faster, according to the sheriff’s office. Viewing video will also aid staff through training and debriefing incidents.