PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Providence has won a federal grant to partially fund a program that would place body cameras on every police officer, the U.S. Dept. of Justice announced Monday.

The city is slated to receive $375,000 to implement the program, according to a spokesperson in the Justice Department. All told, 102 law enforcement agencies in 32 states and Puerto Rico will receive $20 million in grants for body cameras.

“As we strive to support local leaders and law enforcement officials in their work to protect their communities, we are mindful that effective public safety requires more than arrests and prosecutions,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a prepared statement. “It also requires winning – and keeping – the trust and confidence of the citizens we serve.”

Emily Crowell, a spokesperson for the Elorza administration, confirmed the city will receive the grant.

City officials have said they believe putting cameras on every officer would cost about $1 million over three years, meaning the federal grant would cover more than one-third of the total cost. The police department budget for the fiscal year that started July 1 did not include funding for body cameras, according to Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare.

Earlier this year, Providence police completed a pilot program that consisted of 10 officers testing one set of body cameras for 30 days and another group of cops wearing cameras provided by a second company for another 30 days. The two companies, TASER International and VIEVU, did not charge the city during the testing phase.

Police Chief Col. Hugh Clements has said the officers involved in the program “loved the body-worn cameras.”

Police departments across the country have faced increasing pressure to outfit their employees with body cameras in the wake of several officer-involved shooting that killed black men in recent years. In Boston, zero police officers agreed to wear the cameras for a six-month pilot program, but the Police Commissioner William Evans has ordered 100 rank-and-file cops to use them.

Continue the discussion on FacebookDan McGowan ( dmcgowan@wpri.com ) covers politics, education and the city of Providence for WPRI.com. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter: @danmcgowan