HARRISBURG (TNS) — Body cameras will soon begin to be worn by state corrections department employees who work outside state prisons and community corrections centers to halt contraband from entering those secured facilities.

A $90,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, along with matching funds from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, will be used to buy 45 cameras and associated accessories, video storage and training, according to the state department. The purchase is pending with plans to begin having staff wear the cameras in the first quarter of next year.

The cameras will be worn by criminal investigators, K-9 parole agents and K-9 sergeants assigned to the department’s Bureau of Investigations and Intelligence who work outside its secured facilities to prevent the introduction of drugs and other contraband from entering the facilities.

“Adding body cameras to the enforcement arm of the DOC is one way to build trust and legitimacy among the public we serve,” said Acting Corrections Secretary George Little. “The technology also provides another tool to assist in the documentation of evidence, interactions, and conditions as investigators work to keep dangerous drugs out of our facilities.”

A department spokeswoman said the body cameras will capture the interactions investigators have with visitors and staff while on state property specifically the parking lots.

Spokeswoman Maria Bivens said employees assigned a body camera are trained and licensed to carry and use a lethal weapon on the job and empowered to conduct vehicle searches and engage suspects in field interviews and make arrests.

“The benefits of body cameras for them is the same as body cameras for a police department: to improve transparency and accountability, assist in the documentation of evidence and suspected statements, and serve as a training aid,” Bivens said.

Many local police departments already have equipped their police officers with body cameras or were looking into them at last check.