COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine awarded more than $3.7 million to 21 law enforcement agencies across the state on Monday to help combat violence in their communities.
The Columbus Division of Police and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office are two of the agencies receiving the grant money.
Columbus police will receive nearly $414,000 and the state says the division will use the money to increase the solvability of violent crimes, including homicide and felonious assault.
The money will be used on a new digital forensics unit responsive vehicle, which will be used to quickly go to serious crime scenes to recover video evidence from local businesses, residences, community crime cameras and traffic cameras. The state says this will allow Columbus police detectives to more quickly follow up on leads.
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is receiving nearly $338,000 of the grant money, which will go to the office's Central Ohio Violence Eradication Response Team. The group is responsible for preventing violent crimes, including murder, robbery and aggravated assault.
COVERT will also work to bring mentorship and counseling services to at-risk youth.
The money is coming from the Ohio Violent Reduction Grant Program, which was created last year to give law enforcement officials more tools to hold the small number of criminals responsible for the most violent crime in the state.
“This is just the beginning of our concentrated efforts to give local law enforcement the specific tools they need to combat crime through localized strategies,” Governor DeWine said. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach to fighting crime, and I am dedicated to helping our local agencies prevent violence using the methods they know will make the most difference in their local neighborhoods.”
The program originally launched with $8 million from the state's operating budget, but it was increased to $58 million with additional money from the American Recovery Plan.
To see a list of all 21 law enforcement agencies and how much money they are receiving, click here.
