COLUMBUS, Ohio — Governor Mike DeWine announced the third round of law enforcement agencies to receive grant money to combat violence in their communities.
This round of $3.9 million will be given out to 16 agencies including the Whitehall Police Department.
Whitehall will receive $633,966 to purchase multiple dispatch consoles to improve communication between officers, dispatchers and other agencies.
In total, DeWine will award approximately $58 million as part of the Ohio Violent Crime 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.
As of Monday, the governor has awarded $9.6 million to 44 law enforcement agencies around the state.
In April, The Columbus Division of Police and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office were among the first group receiving $413,908 and $ 337,850 respectively.
Columbus police 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 sheriff's office will put their funds 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.
In May, it was announced the London Police Department in Madison County would receive $126,556 to offer retention bonuses to aid in retaining experienced officers and recruiting prospective employees.