Westmoreland law enforcement agencies get $1.5M in grants

Five law enforcement agencies in Westmoreland County have been awarded $1.5 million in state funding that will help at least two of them make technology upgrades.

The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office received the largest share of the five, $497,000, from the local law enforcement support grant program through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Officials intend to use some of the money to create a digital forensic lab that will enable county detectives to analyze devices that contain evidence, such as computers and cellphones.

Public information officer Melanie Jones said detectives currently seek help from the state police crime lab in Hempfield, the attorney general’s office in North Huntingdon and a private firm in Greensburg to analyze such devices. District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said the lab will be available to all law enforcement agencies in the county.

The $478,000 received by Jeannette Police Department will make a big impact. Police Chief Donald Johnston Jr. said the money will be used to purchase additional body cameras, computers for the station and patrol units, radios, seven license plate readers and about 20 more surveillance cameras to place around the city. The license plate readers will be installed at high traffic areas and in patrol units.

The grant also will provide retention bonuses for officers over two years — up to $8,000 — depending on their amount of service with the department.

“All the computer stuff is extremely expensive,” Johnston said. “We would not have been able to purchase any of the items without the assistance of the grant. It’s pretty essential.”

In addition to the PCCD grant, Jeannette recently was awarded $195,000 through the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Act. Johnston said that money will be used to train officers in drug recognition and DUI checkpoints as well as to purchase testing equipment officers can use in the field to determine what type of drug is involved in a seizure.

“We were the only municipality … in Westmoreland County that received those funds,” said Ethan Keedy, city chief fiscal officer.

Interim Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, said in a statement that the PCCD funding will enable improvements in local departments to help them better protect communities.

“With the rise in crime across the Commonwealth, it is critical that we work with local law enforcement to help provide them with the tools and resources needed to ensure Pennsylvanians feel safe in their homes and in the communities where they live and work,” she said.

Other police departments that were awarded PCCD funding include $269,000 for Monessen, $152,000 for Latrobe and $107,000 for Ligonier Valley, according to information from the district attorney’s office.