More Kern County Sheriff's deputies will soon be equipped with body cameras.
On Monday, the Kern County Sheriff's Office said the department was awarded a federal grant that will be used to purchase 90 body cameras for deputies in the metropolitan patrol division.
These cameras will be the fourth phase of body camera installations in KCSO. Currently, 47 deputies wear cameras. There are 17 deputies at the Wasco substation, 20 deputies assigned to monitor people with ankle bracelets, and 10 deputies in the downtown jail.
In February, county supervisors approved matching the funds if the sheriff's department received the other half of the money from a Department of Justice grant. KCSO said the department first applied for the grant in 2015, but did not receive the funds.
The initial cost of the cameras and the first year of video storage is $270,000.
