Police in Butler Township and Slippery Rock will be getting new camera systems to help improve public safety as well as promote the safety of their officers.

Butler Township received $155,464, and Slippery Rock received $97,242 from the Local Law Enforcement Support Program and Gun Violence Investigation & Prosecution Program, both administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Funding can be spent on improving multi-agency gun violence task forces, personnel costs, technology and software to improve investigation or increase clearance rates, firearm tracing programs and any efforts that aid in the investigation of a crime involving firearms, according to a Thursday, Dec. 15, news release from Gov. Tom Wolf’s office.

Slippery Rock Mayor Jondavid Longo said the borough got exactly what it applied for, which will pay for new body cameras for eight officers, dash cameras for their three vehicles and license plate recognition cameras for the police department. These will all be new systems to the borough police.

“These cameras serve to protect citizens, but also serve to protect officers,” Longo said. “Having systems like these is going to make sure that everybody is accountable.”

Butler Township manager Tom Knights said the money will go toward the purchase of new dash cameras to replace the aging ones already in use by the seven vehicles in the police’s fleet. Also, the township will purchase body cameras for the 20 officers in the department, which Knights said is a new initiative.

“The nice thing about the bodycams is it’s a whole new program for our department,” Knights said. “That's purchase of body cameras, along with the computer and IT equipment and software to conduct the downloads and storage.”

Butler Township Commission President Dave Zarnick said the township applies for grants whenever it can.

“I encourage all department heads to apply for grants out there that will help their departments and save them money,” Zarnick said. “That grant will save the taxpayers money, and also increase safety in the community.”

Priority consideration for both grant programs was given to those agencies in jurisdictions with the highest rates of violence, or gun violence. The Local Law Enforcement Support Program also gave priority consideration to agencies struggling with lower crime clearance rates.

According to Longo, the cameras will be purchased by Slippery Rock as soon as possible, and he said he hopes to have the system up and running some time next year.

“Our priority is that this is up and moving in the near future,” Longo said. “I'm hopeful in the first quarter of 2023 that we have at least made a purchase.”

Knights also said township administrators plan to purchase equipment and implement it in the police department as soon as possible.