Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester County SD40 Municipalities and Law Enforcement Agencies to Receive Critical Funding for Crime Fighting, Protecting the Public
With public safety as one of his top priorities, Senator Pete Harckham announced today that he is awarding over $500,000 in law enforcement/public safety grants to eight municipalities/law enforcement agencies in the 40th Senate District. The funds will be used to purchase critical equipment that will allow law enforcement agencies to fight crime and better protect the public they serve.
“Public Safety is the number one responsibility of government,” said Senator Harckham. Our law enforcement agencies must have the ability to purchase advanced technology and new police vehicles and equipment, in order to effectively patrol and protect our communities. The more than $500,000 in law enforcement/public safety grants that I’m announcing today will help keep our residents and first responders safe.”
Harckham’s State Aid to Municipality grants are going to:
With public safety as one of his top priorities, Senator Pete Harckham announced today that he is awarding over $500,000 in law enforcement/public safey grants to eight municipalities/law enforcement agencies in the 40th Senate District. The funds will be used to purchase critical equipment that will allow law enforcement agencies to fight crime and better protect the public they serve.
“Public Safety is the number one responsibility of government,” said Senator Harckham. Our law enforcement agencies must have the ability to purchase advanced technology and new police vehicles and equipment, in order to effectively patrol and protect our communities. The more than $500,000 in law enforcement/public safety grants that I’m announcing today will help keep our residents and first responders safe.”
Harckham’s State Aid to Municipality grants are going to:
Putnam County
Putnam County District Attorney’s Office – Computer Equipment; the grant will be used to upgrade and modernize computer hardware and software technology to: 1) better handle the large volume of work for pre-trial preparation 2) use in the courtroom to present digital and multimedia evidence to juries during trials - $60,000
Putnam County Sheriff’s Office – License Plate Readers (LPR’s); six fixed LPRs will be used to help solve crimes, locate missing persons and provide vital data to help determine patterns of criminal activity. The LPR data will also be used to support local, state and federal partners fighting organized crime and terrorism - $74,700
Brewster – Two Police Cars - $55,000
Westchester County
Cortlandt – Emergency Response/Service Vehicle - $50,000
Croton-on-Hudson – Eco-friendly Police Vehicle; Stop the Bleed Kits - $52,500
Somers – Police Car and Two Speed Devices to show drivers their speed in relation to the speed limit - $56,000
Yorktown – Seven Speed Devices for use in the Yorktown and Lakeland School Districts. The devices, when placed in school zones, will display the school zone speed limit and how fast the automobile is going in the school zone. The device will flash when the driver is exceeding that limit - $70,700.
Dutchess County
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office – License Plate Reader Pole Camera System; the system can be used to detect the flow of narcotics and other illegal items or substances between New York City and Albany, thus working to decrease the opioid epidemic in Dutchess and neighboring counties - $86,000
Sheriff Robert Langley, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, said, “The camera and LPR solutions are an invaluable tool for law enforcement for crime prevention strategy. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department is an active participant with the Westchester County Real Time Crime Center. The addition of LPR’s throughout Putnam County will only make our communities safer and enhance the capabilities of the Westchester County RTC. An example of how invaluable these LPR systems are is that on January 6, 2019 a young female was walking home in Mt. Kisco from a McDonalds. A male subject approached her and threatened her with a gun in an attempt to abduct her. Through the dedicated work of the RTC the subject was identified and his description along with the vehicle were put out to all agencies. On January 7th the LPR system alerted that the suspect’s vehicle was in the area of Putnam Valley at the Putnam County/Westchester County border. Both the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and the Westchester County Police were able to apprehend the suspect who was found to be in possession of a loaded defaced handgun. I cannot express the importance of having LPR’s in our communities enough and thanks to Senator Peter Harckham we will have these invaluable crime fighting tools.”
James J Schoenig, Mayor of Brewster, said, “The Village of Brewster is grateful to Senator Harckham for recognizing the Brewster Police Department’s commitment to public safety and service to the community by this award of $50,000 to be used for a new police vehicle. Our current public affairs environment requires our local law enforcement to do more to protect the community 24/7/365 and having the latest technology and dependable equipment is vital to performing this task above public expectations. The Village of Brewster community and the surrounding area will all benefit from heightened visibility and enforcement through this grant. Senator Harckham is serving the needs of our community and our local Village Police.”
Ilan Gilbert, Town Supervisor, Town of Yorktown said, “I’d like to thank Senator Peter Harckham for responding so quickly to his request to provide funding for the installation of radar speed signs at our local schools. This equipment displays the speed limit in the school zone and at the same time displays the driver’s actual speed, which has been shown to result in compliance with the speed limit thereby helping keep our children safe.”
Rick Morrissey, Town Supervisor, Town of Somers, said, “The Town of Somers is grateful for Senator Harckham's support in purchasing a police cruiser, as providing public safety is at the foundation of local government. These funds will allow the Town to enhance our public safety efforts without impacting our taxpayers.”
Linda Puglisi, Town Supervisor, Town of Cortlandt said, “We thank Senator Peter Harckham for his work on securing a grant under the SAM program for an emergency response vehicle. We appreciate of all his efforts in assisting our town.”