FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
December 16, 2009 JASON SILVA, CHIEF OF STAFF
978-745-9595, EXT. 5603
Salem Awarded $250,000 for Regional Policing Efforts
SALEM, MA – Thanks to the hard work of Congressman John Tierney, the City of Salem has been awarded $250,000 to fund regional efforts to pool resources to better solve crimes, address criminal trends, and train officers.
Last May, the Salem Police Department, in collaboration with the surrounding communities of Beverly, Danvers, Hamilton, Wenham and the Salem State College Campus Police, jointly prepared a request to fund a regional approach to law enforcement. The $250,000 appropriation is expected to fund improvements in the fields of crime, information technology, and fingerprint and video evidence analysis.
“I would like to thank Congressman Tierney for his strong advocacy to secure this funding in Congress’s annual spending bill,” stated Mayor Kimberley Driscoll. “Given the current financial situation affecting the state and many communities, without this funding we could not afford to implement this regional approach which undoubtedly will save money over the long term and make us more effective and efficient at solving crime in Salem and the region.”
This regional project is intended to reduce the financial impact on individual departments by sharing the cost of technological support personnel and equipment. As an added benefit, this will also foster a more collaborative approach to solving crimes and training law enforcement personnel. Police departments are making great strides in sharing information as crime continues to cross community lines; however, we need additional technology and the personnel to support it to effectively provide police support services in a rapidly changing, highly technological time.
“With crime figures on the rise throughout the region this funding becomes more important than ever,” added Chief Paul Tucker. “It ensures that the involved agencies have the ability to work collaboratively on solving crimes and use technology to our advantage to better analysis and address criminal trends.”
This annual spending bill (H.R. 3288, FY 2010 Consolidated Appropriations), was recently approved by the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation is expected to be passed by the Senate and signed into law in the coming days.
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