White House to Evaluate Policing Practices, Provide $263 Million for Police Body Cameras

President Barack Obama has announced initiatives intended to build trust between communities and local police forces after the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown and an excessive police response to peaceful protesters put the issue of police militarization at the front of the national political discourse.

The initiatives are the result of a government study into the disbursement of military grade weaponry to local police departments under federal programs, according to a press release from the White House.

One of the key findings of the government study was that there are no clear guidelines in place to ensure that local communities receive appropriate and useful resources, and that officers using such resources are properly trained in when and how to properly use them.

As a result of discovering this shortcoming, the President has issued an executive order that calls for law enforcement agencies to work together with civil rights and civil liberties organizations to formulate and make recommendations for new policies. The aforementioned parties will have 120 days to complete this work after the task force first meets.

The President also announced plans to formulate a Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The purpose of the task force will be to investigate the best means to build trust between police forces and the communities they police. The task force will publish its findings and recommendations no later than 90 days after its creation.

The White House also announced plans to spend $263 million on body cameras to be distributed to local governments. The government will give local communities seeking to equip their officers with body cameras half of the money they would spend to do so. The White House estimates that the program could help to equip as many as 50,000 officers with body cameras.