By K.D. Norris
Kent County, in recent months, has made two unique expenditures as part of its public safety efforts. One, taking a more traditional approach, saw the county spend more than $2 million to equip the Sheriff’s office with state-of-the-art equipment, most notably body cameras. The other, in a distinctively non-traditional approach, has the county funding nearly $500,000 in grants to non-profit community groups to prevent crime from occurring.
During a recent visit to the studio of WKTV Journal In Focus, we talked with Kent County Administrator Wayman Britt and Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young about the two expenditures and why they are important to the community.
Discussion includes the protocol for use of body cameras and vehicle dashboard cameras, and how both can protect law enforcement and the right of the pubic during sometimes tense interactions. Then we get their take on why the prevention of crime, specifically community violence, will take more than just law enforcement officers on the streets, and why the county is allocating funds to its new Community Violence Prevention Grant program.
WKTV Journal In Focus airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule. For dates and times on Channel 99, visit here). All individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
