WASHINGTON — More and more police officers have begun wearing body-mounted cameras, and if federal funding is approved, Stafford County Sheriff’s Office deputies could be next.

The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office is asking the Justice Department for $400,000 to help buy body cameras for 100 deputies. The federal program requires a 50 percent local funding match, and Inside Nova reports the County Board of Supervisors agreed to the program.

The use of body cameras would provide transparency, Sheriff David Decatur said. The small cameras can provide hard evidence of interactions between police and citizens.

The county has some experience with the cameras; deputies used about 20 body cameras in a 90-day test period.