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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-05-11 09-152 ORDERCOUNCIL ACTION Item No, j 152 Date: 5/3/09 Item/Subject: Order, Authorizing the City Manager to Apply for and Accept $221,689 in Funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) that will be Shared between Five Area Law Enforcement Agencies for the Purpose of Enhancing Law Enforcement Programs. Responsible Department: Police Commentary: The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has made funding available to law enforcement through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. As such, the County of Penobscot, City of Brewer, Town of Orono, Town of Dexter, and the City of Bangor are eligible to apply for a total of $221,689 in funding. In order to be eligible for this grant, all of these agencies must file a joint application, with an agreement that one agency will act to administer and pass through the monies under this project. Individual allocations were based upon reported crime statistics, and Bangor's share will be $146,297. The City of Bangor has agreed to file the application and administer the grant pursuant to the eligibility requirements. Each law enforcement agency involved has agreed to designate 2% of each of their total allocation, or $1,506 in total, to the Bangor Police Department in exchange for that assistance. These funds require no match. The Bangor Police Department proposes to use our share of these funds in the following areas: Firearms upgrade, Electronic sign board, Three (3) Additional Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) Access Points, Evidence Processing and Laboratory Equipment, Computer Equipment and Software Upgrades for Computer Forensic Lab, Enhanced Major Case Management/Criminal Investigative Training. Department Head Manager's Comments: This has been reviewed and is recommended by Government Operations. City Manager Associated Information: Yhsmt Budget Approval: Legal Approval: Introduced for X Passage First Reading RpfPrral Page _ of _ Finance Director City Solicitor Assigned to Councilor WHEELER CIThY OF BANGOR A52 MAY 11 2009 (TITLE.) Order, Authorizing the City Manager to Apply for and Accept $221,689 in Funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) that will be Shared between Five Area Law Enforcement Agencies for the Purpose of Enhancing Law Enforcement Programs. BE IT ORDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BANGOR THAT the City Manager is hereby authorized to apply for and accept $221,689 in grant funds from the United States Bureau of Justice Assistance to be shared between area municipalities and Penobscot County to be used for the purpose of enahncing law enforcement programs; and BE IT FURTHER ORDERED THAT the Police Department is hereby authorized to assume the duties of pass through and fiscal agent for those other agencies (the City of Brewer, Towns of Orno and Dexter, and Penobscot County) receiving funds as a result of this grant. IN CITY COUNCIL May 11, 2009 ZITWYCLERK #09-152 QRDFR (TffLE AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO APPLY FOR AND ACCEPT $221,689 IN FUNDS FROM THE BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE (BJA) THAT WILL BE SHARED BETWEEN FIVE AREA LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES FO RTHE PURPOSE OF ENHANCING LAW ENFORC SENT ROGRAMS Assigned to Councilor 319 *52 35 Court Street Bangor, Maine 04401 Bangor Police Department 207-947-2254 Fax 207-945-6824 TO. Government Operations Committee FROM. • Deputy Chief Peter Arno DATE. April 14, 2009 RE: 2009 Byrne Memorial/ Justice Assistance Grant Funding As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice has been provided funding to assist law enforcement in many different ways. Under the above solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is making funding available to law enforcement through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. As such, the County of Penobscot, City of Brewer, Town of Orono, Town of Dexter and City of Bangor are eligible to apply for a total of $221,689 in funding. Individual allocations were based upon crime reporting statistics and Bangor's share has been designated at $146,297. These funds require no match and are designed to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement in a number of purpose areas, to include; technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies etc. which will improve or enhance law enforcement programs In order to be eligible for this grant, all of the aforementioned agencies must file a joint application, with the agreement that one agency acts to administer and be the pass through for the monies under this project. The City of Bangor (Bangor Police Department) has agreed to file the application and administer the grant pursuant to the eligibility requirements. Each of the law enforcement agencies involved has agreed to designate 2% of each of their total allocation, or $1506 total dollars to the Bangor Police Department on exchange for that assistance. The Bangor Police Department would propose that their funds be used in the following areas: • Firearms upgrade- The handguns currently carried by Bangor Police Officers are over ten (10) years old. In the late 1990's when these guns were purchased, these .40 caliber weapons were considered state of the art and were the prevalent sidearm carried by a number of law enforcement agencies. Over the past several years, however, a number of law enforcement agencies have opted to upgrade to a .45 caliber handgun. This upgrade will provide greater safety for our officers and the public as it will allow officers to carry a weapon which is commensurate with, or superior to, that which is being carried by criminals. The cost of the weapons upgrade also includes the cost purchasing new holsters, ammunition and magazine pouches to go with the handguns. It also takes into account the approximate $20,000 trade-in value of the existing handguns that we own. Cost = $40,000. y • Electronic sign board- Currently, the police department owns two (2) electronic ` sign boards that are equipped with radar units and data collection equipment. We would like to add one additional sign board to our inventory. These sign boards are portable and have a variety of uses, to include: use during special events (e.g. Folk Festival), inclement weather, radar details, displaying safety messages etc. Cost = $16,000 • (3) Additional Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) Access Points- Over the past two years, the Police and Fire Departments have utilized several hundred thousand dollars worth of homeland security money in the construction of a city-wide wireless broadband mobile data system and the purchase of related equipment, such as laptop computers, which have been installed in police and fire vehicles. This system has provided the police and fire departments access to a state of the art mobile data system which has enhanced the effectiveness and efficiency of both departments. Because this is a wireless system, the access points essentially act as antennas, providing a link between the MDT's and the data. Currently, there are seven (7) access points which have been located strategically around the city. In order to further enhance the speed and coverage of this system, we would propose the purchase of six (6) additional access points. We would propose that only three of them be purchased with money from this grant. We are hopeful that the remaining three can be purchased using anticipated FY 2009 homeland security money. Included in the cost would be the engineering studies that would need to be completed in order to determine the most effective location for the additional access points. Cost = $60, 000. Evidence Processing and Laboratory Eauiument — Law enforcement evidence technology is growing at a rapid pace, as such, there have been a number of recent advancements in the area evidence detection, collection and preservation. The Bangor Police Department currently houses our own evidence processing lab and secured evidence storage area. We would like to undertake an informal needs study in order to determine what equipment purchases/upgrades would enhance our efforts in this area and use a portion of these grant funds in order to compliment existing technology. There has been recent discussion about purchasing an electronic evidence/equipment bar coding system, enhanced fingerprint detection and lifting equipment, a stand-alone Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) system and the like. We would like to study these needs further in order to determine what item(s) make the most sense for us to purchase at this time. Cost = $15,000. • Computer Eauinment and Software Upgrades for Computer Forensic Lab - The Bangor Police Department currently has one detective assigned to working computer-related crimes, including child pornography and computer fraud cases. These cases are often worked cooperatively with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Maine State Police. Currently, we are in need of some equipment and software X52 01 9 .. 5 upgrades which will further enhance our ability to adequately and effectively investigate these ever-increasing crimes. Cost = $8402. • Enhanced Maior Case Management/Criminal Investigative Training - Currently, the Bangor Police Department is only one of three agencies within the State of Maine that is authorized by the Attorney General to conduct their own independent homicide investigations. With this authority, comes the responsibility and need for highly specialized training, over and above the current basic homicide investigative training that all of our detectives attend. As such, we would propose using a portion of this grant money in order to send members of our detective division to training which will further assist them in the investigation and prosecution of complex criminal cases, such as homicides. Cost = $8401. The Police Department is requesting permission to apply for, accept, and appropriate funding from this grant.