Pima County (AZ) gets $1 million technology grant
The Pima County (Arizona) Sheriff's Department has received a $1 million COPS Making Officer Redeployment Effective (MORE ) grant from the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. The grant will be used to buy squad car computers, computer-aided equipment, and crime analysis hardware and software. A press release from the Justice Department summarizes the $62 million in funding distributed nationwide in the latest batch of funding.
Source: "Sheriff's Dept. gets $1M grant to update computers;" Tucson (AZ) Citizen, August 24, 2002, Pg. 2B
Facial recognition demo project in Mass
Fitchburg and four other Massachusetts cities will share a $1 million federal COPS in Technology grant for a Facial Recognition and Data Capture Demonstration project. The grant will connect facial recognition databases of police in Fitchburg, Worcester, Brockton, New Bedford and Fall River as a pilot for a statewide database. Among the advantages in having such an application statewide would be improved identification of suspects using fraudulent driver's licenses.
Source: "Fitchburg police will help test face-recognition network" by Craig S. Semon; Worcester (MA) Telegram & Gazette, August 28, 2002, Pg. B3
S.C. police agencies get technology grants
Five South Carolina law enforcement agencies were recently awarded federal grants to purchase technology, including the Goose Creek Police Department -- $238,319, the Greenville County Sheriff's Department -- $1 million, and the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Department -- $562,500. The Irmo Police Department received $129,000, which will be used for 12 patrol car computers and software that will enable officers to transmit reports from their vehicles. The S.C. Department of Public Safety received $750,000, which will go towards a statewide computer-aided dispatch system that will also offer residents an Internet site to check for traffic accidents.
Source: "S.C. gets technology grants to fight crime" by Kimathi Lewis; The State (Columbia, SC) August 25, 2002, Pg. B5
St. Clair (MI) gets technology grant
The St. Clair County (Michigan) Sheriff’s Department was recently awarded a $328,000 COPS MORE grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, part of $3.7 million awarded to 13 law enforcement agencies in Michigan. The department will use the grant buy a new computer-aided dispatch system, replacing one 15 years old, and a new records management system. The department currently lacks an easy way to search its records.
Source: "Feds OK tech grant for sheriff; $328,000 will go to improve dispatch center" by Amber Hunt; Times Herald (Port Huron, MI) August 25, 2002, Pg. 1A
Broward (FL) Sheriff gets grant for wireless system
The Broward County (Florida) Sheriff's Office recently received a $749,000 federal COPS MORE grant for a wireless communications system that will allow deputies to rapidly download large computer files such as mug shots and detailed maps on their squad car laptops. The grant will help pay for 25 antennas to be installed throughout the county. The wireless system will not clog radio channels that are needed for 911 and other dispatch communications.
Source: "Wireless System to Aid Deputies; Files Can Be Downloaded From Cruisers" by Jose Dante Parra Herrera; Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) August 25, 2002, Pg. 4B
Post Falls (ID) Police use grant for communications system
The Post Falls (Idaho) Police Department has used a $130,000 federal grant obtained last year to set up a wireless communications system that enables officers to run records checks and prepare reports in their patrol cars, keeping them on the street instead of back at headquarters. The department hopes to equip all 20 patrol cars with computers, and complete wireless coverage across 100% of the city, by the end of September. The entire cost of the project is roughly $200,000, most of which was used for squad car computers and other hardware.
Source: "Connected cops; Grant lets Post Falls police buy wireless data connections for patrol car laptops" by Angie Gaddy; The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA) August 24, 2002, Pg. H2
