Some area law enforcement agencies will soon receive state funds to help purchase new public safety equipment.
Grants totaling more than $7 million dollars were awarded today to 113 local and state law enforcement agencies and correctional or detention facilities.
Approximately 90 percent of the total funds will be received by local police and sheriff’s departments to purchase the new equipment.
The Batesville Police Department is scheduled to receive $100,000 in Public Safety Equipment Grants, while the Independence County Sheriff’s Department is to receive $11,875. The Mountain View Police Department will receive $38,481, while the Mountain View School District will receive $6,587. And the Highland Police Department is down for receiving $30,660 of the grant money.
The grants were authorized last year through legislation adopted by Governor Asa Hutchinson and the Arkansas General Assembly.
Act 786 sanctioned the Public Safety Equipment Grant Program to the administered by the Arkansas Department of Public Safety and provides for grants to be used for purchasing “non-lethal equipment that aids in improving trust and relationships between law enforcement agencies, detention centers, and corrections agencies within their communities that they serve.”
“One of the key recommendations of our Task Force to Advance the State of Law Enforcement in Arkansas was the creation of state funding for increased training and improving the safety equipment used by local law enforcement officers,” stated Governor Hutchinson. “The grants directed to local law enforcement agencies will help to further the trust between these agencies and the communities they serve, and I want to commend the Department of Public Safety and the General Assembly for bringing this program to fruition.”
The grant applications submitted earlier this year were reviewed and graded for distribution by a committee selected from a cross-section of state and local law enforcement officers, correction and detention officers, and professional laypersons.
Have a news tip or event to promote? Email White River Now at news@whiterivernow.com. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to download the White River Now mobile app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
Get up-to-date local and regional news/weather every weekday morning and afternoon from the First Community Bank Newsroom on Arkansas 103.3 KWOZ. White River Now updates are also aired weekday mornings on 93 KZLE, Outlaw 106.5, and Your FM 99.5.
