$1 Million in Grants Awarded to Saginaw Police Department for New Technology
The city of Saginaw, Michigan was a awarded a grant to tackle the ongoing crime issue it is currently encountering. The United States Department of Justice awarded a 3-year grant of $646,706 to implement strategies and techniques used by other US cities to lower their crime rates.
The Police Chief Bob Ruth is developing ideas for the “Strategies for policing innovation” incorporation, which was approved by the City Council.
The first idea the grant is going to be used for is to install security cameras throughout the city that will be managed by the police department to monitor situations of serious nature before the police arrives.
It’s similar to the security camera system that is being used currently in Baltimore, MD.
The City Council also awarded the police department the funding of 3 other grants. One of the grants was awarded by the Department of Homeland Security worth $28,499.95 and will be used for a new Throw-Phone system. The second grant was awarded by the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights office in the amount of $276,000 for a new Victim Specialist Program. The third grant was awarded by the United States Department of Justice named “Strategy to Enhance Law Enforcement Response to Victim” and is worth $30,000.
The total grant funding for the Saginaw Police Department added up to $981,205.95.
Police Chief Ruth is urging residents not to worry in regards to “Big Brother” because the police department will be using the cameras only for crimes of serious nature such as robberies and shootings.
The grants will begin to be used between October 1, 2019 and September 30, 2022. The grants will also be used for resources to come up with solutions for the cities most serious crimes. Grants for dealing community security measures are quite common and can be found on GrantWatch. Issues like this need to be addressed and resources are out there to help along with the mission of reducing crime. This new technology will help organizations prevent future issues to arise and old ones from remaining ongoing.