Princeton police get grant for cameras for cruisers
By John Joyce
Published in News on June 9, 2015 1:46 PM
PRINCETON -- The Princeton Police Department announced Monday that it will receive two grants from the Governor's Crime Commission for the purchase of new equipment.
The money will allow police Chief Tyrone Sutton to procure new in-car video cameras and to upgrade the police department's portable radios. The combined total in grant money awarded amounts to $44,785.
The application process for the grant funding began back in January.
"We applied at that time and were sent a letter about a month ago letting us know our application was being looked at asking for some adjustments made to it," Sutton said. "This month we received another letter saying the funds were approved."
The first grant -- an Officer Safety Grant in the amount of $14,985 -- will pay for the Princeton Police Department to place video cameras in three of the town's four patrol cars.
The cameras will activate as son as the officer switches on the emergency lights, Sutton said.
The second grant -- a Communications P-25 grant in the amount of $29,800 -- will pay for the department to convert it's portable radio system.
Sutton said Johnston County is switching over its communications system over the next year, and his department would not have been able to afford the conversion without the grant money.
"As you might recall, the nation witnessed when it endured the events of 9/11 ... some communications issues prevented different agencies at the scene from communicating with one another," Sutton said.
Johnston County authorities and the Princeton Police Department are converting their radios to avoid such an issue.
"This will aid other agencies to communicate with Johnston County, even those agencies from outside the county," Sutton said.
The Princeton police Department employees 14 offices, some part-time and some full-time. The equipment, including personal body cameras and Tasers purchased with last year's grant funds, are shared among all of the officers, Sutton said. The soon-to-be acquired in-car cameras will help prosecute cases and will aid the department's ability to investigate citizen complaints against its officers, he added.
The grant funds will be made available at the start of the federal fiscal year, Oct. 1, Sutton said.
"As a police chief it is my job to be able to provide the officers and the department with the technology needed to better serve the community," he said.