What Happened?
Police departments across the country are leveraging grant funding opportunities to deploy programs that prevent crime and boost public safety efforts.
New Britain
In New Britain, Connecticut, a federal grant is being administered through the state Office of Policy and Management that will help city police fund anti-violence initiatives. The $34,000 grant will be allocated to violent crime prevention police department programs including proactive investigations with detectives and patrol officers, as well as community outreach in high-crime areas, New Britain Herald reported.
The federal grant will be used to help the local police department identify high-crime areas, deploy resources to mitigate violent crime risks and work collaboratively with residents and community groups to make citizens aware of the programs in their neighborhoods. The goal is to not only reduce violent crimes in the community, but also reignite communication and trust between residents and police officers, New Britain Herald reported.
Worcester
In Worcester, Massachusetts, the local police department is pursuing an activation grant that would allow the city to install a system in city schools that enables law enforcement to communication directly with school officials. Currently, the school must call 911 to contact police forces. The new technology would create a direct line between schools and police departments for faster response times to incidents, Worcester Telegram reported.
The activation grant would be administered by the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts and help pay for the installation of video cameras and communication equipment. In a state of emergency, teachers and administrators would be able to speak directly with a police officer to handle the situation. The video camera surveillance system would provide police with real-time visual data to support faster, more effective decision making to keep schools safer, Worcester Telegram reported.
Dayton
The City commissioners in Dayton, Ohio, recently approved a $50,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Public Safety to support traffic patrols near construction zones. As construction jobs will continue to increase during the summer months, the Dayton Police Department is looking to ramp up traffic monitoring to keep roadways safe and construction projects on track, WDTN reported.
Dayton is dealing with a decline in staffing levels that can be supplemented with investment in new technologies. The grant funding will be used to not only pay for officers’ overtime but also the addition of traffic cameras to encourage more responsible driving through construction zones, WDTN reported.
Rutgers University
Rutgers University is using a federal grant to support its newly launched Institute for Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security to protect people and property in emergency situations. The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence awarded the university $1.95 million in funding to design an academic program that teaches intelligence-related skills. The courses will combine mathematics, engineering, criminal justice, medicine and law to showcase the efficacy of interdisciplinary cooperation in law enforcement and public safety, The Daily Targum reported.
The goal of the grant is to create a feeder program that will support the intelligence community workforce. Graduates of the program will have the skills necessary to deal with a variety of emergency situations including natural disaster recovery, The Daily Targum reported.
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