SCHENECTADY — The Schenectady Police Department has secured grants to bolster department technology, advance speeding enforcement efforts and to purchase new firearm equipment.
During the Schenectady City Council’s Tuesday night meeting, the council approved the acceptance of a $201,831 grant from New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, with $165,233 in funding to be used for mobile computers, communications equipment and cameras for security enhancements within the city.
The grant funding will also be used to maintain department software, with $15,000 set to be used for training costs involved in active shooters and other mass incidents.
“Every [police] car has a mobile computer and we also give a computer to every investigator,” Schenectady Police Chief Eric Clifford said. “The investigators many times take those computers into the field, so that’s why we consider them mobile computers. Many times we utilize the Wi-Fi capacity throughout the city to connect. In some instances where investigators have to go outside the city, we might have a cellular connection to them or they might use a hot spot on their phone. The mobile computer connectivity really revolves around outfitting the officer to take their office wherever they have to go.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, the council also accepted a $46,000 grant for the police department from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee for the agency to participate in the state’s Click It or Ticket initiative and seat belt usage enforcement.
“They’re targeted to deal with specific situations, problems or opportunities,” Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy said of the various police grants. “We’re fortunate where we have a good team in place and we have a rapport or relationship with some of these funding agencies to get other opportunities to help leverage the tax dollars that we spend providing public safety.”
The council also authorized the city to accept a $168,145 grant from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services for the purchases of new holsters that will be compatible with new firearms and Modular Optic Systems.
“Historically we’ve been really good about being aggressive with applying for grants,” Clifford said. “That goes back before I was the chief. Retired Assistant Chief Mike Seber was really good at networking and staying involved in various organizations that had grants available. He would always make sure that we appropriately fulfilled the requirements of those grants.”
The city also received a $77,433 grant from the New York State Office of Addiction and Supports from an opioid settlement agreement for use in the Schenectady County Hub program, which assists residents struggling with drug addiction.
“In our recent climate, I think that there’s more grants available,” Clifford said. “The state has a lot of grant opportunities out there that are different. We are aggressively pursuing those grants.”
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