Law Enforcement Equipment

This grant program is authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) (the 'Recovery Act') and by 42 U.S.C. 3751(a). The stated purposes of the Recovery Act are: to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; to assist those most impacted by the recession; to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; and to stabilize state and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases. The Recovery Act places great emphasis on accountability and transparency in the use of taxpayer dollars.

Among other things, it creates a new Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and a new website ' Recovery.gov ' to provide information to the public, including access to detailed information on grants and contracts made with Recovery Act funds.

The Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program funded under the Recovery Act is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. Recovery JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system, from multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces to crime prevention and domestic violence programs, courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives. Recovery JAG funded projects may address crime through the provision of services directly to individuals and/or communities and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice systems, processes, and procedures.

Goochland County will use their FY 2010 Recovery Act JAG award in the amount of $45,661 to enhance investigative and first responding capabilities of the sheriff's office through new equipment and technology. Specifically, JAG funds will be used to purchase a thermal imaging camera, a digital imaging camera, a universal forensic extraction device for portable media, five automatic external defibrillators, and five Alco-Sensor breath alcohol meters. Through the purchase of the thermal imaging equipment, the sheriff's office will have tools that enable deputies to augment searches for lost children and Alzheimer's patients. Additionally, this equipment may be used at crime scenes to search for evidence. The purchase of the AED's gives deputies, who are often first on the scene of a cardiac emergency, the ability to render state of the art first aid to citizens prior to the arrival of emergency medical services. The Universal Forensic Extraction Device enables investigators to extract information from cell phones and portable media devices, an important, time-saving step in missing person's cases or investigations of predatory internet behavior. The alco-sensors are indispensable tools for the detection and arrest of intoxicated/impaired drivers that imperil the safety of law abiding citizens using the roads and highways of the county. This purchase will help increase citizen safety, officer safety, reduce changes of serious injury, and possibly save the life of a citizen, an arrest party, or an officer.

NCA/NCF