Harckham Announces Over $500,000 in Law Enforcement Grants

(Peekskill, NY) With public safety as one of his top priorities, Senator Pete Harckham announced today that he is awarding over $500,000 in law enforcement/public safey grants to eight municipalities/law enforcement agencies in the 40th Senate District. The funds will be used to purchase critical equipment that will allow law enforcement agencies to fight crime and better protect the public they serve.

“Public Safety is the number one responsibility of government,” said Senator Harckham.  Our law enforcement agencies must have the ability to purchase advanced technology and new police vehicles and equipment, in order to effectively patrol and protect our communities. The more than $500,000 in law enforcement/public safety grants that I’m announcing today will help keep our residents and first responders safe.”

Harckham’s State Aid to Municipality grants are going to:

Dutchess County

Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office – License Plate Reader Pole Camera System; the system can be used to detect the flow of narcotics and other illegal items or substances between New York City and Albany, thus working to decrease the opioid epidemic in Dutchess and neighboring counties - $86,000

Putnam County

Putnam County District Attorney’s Office – Computer Equipment; the grant will be used to upgrade and modernize computer hardware and software technology to: 1) better handle the large volume of work for pre-trial preparation 2) use in the courtroom to present digital and multimedia evidence to juries during trials - $60,000

Putnam County Sheriff’s Office – License Plate Readers (LPR’s); six fixed LPRs will be used to help solve crimes, locate missing persons and provide vital data to help determine patterns of criminal activity. The LPR data will also be used to support local, state and federal partners fighting organized crime and terrorism - $74,700

Brewster – Two Police Cars - $55,000

Westchester County

Cortlandt – Emergency Response/Service Vehicle - $50,000

Croton-on-Hudson – Eco-friendly Police Vehicle; Stop the Bleed Kits - $52,500

Somers – Police Car and Two Speed Devices to show drivers their speed in relation to the speed limit - $56,000

Yorktown – Seven Speed Devices for use in the Yorktown and Lakeland School Districts. The devices, when placed in school zones, will display the school zone speed limit and how fast the automobile is going in the school zone. The device will flash when the driver is exceeding that limit - $70,700 

Robert V. Tendy, Putnam County District Attorney said, “This funding could not be coming at a better time. Our office is facing enormous additional work obligations due to the new discovery rules which will take effect beginning January 1, 2020. We do not currently have the equipment necessary to handle the amount of data and file transfers that the new law necessitates. This funding will help us handle our obligations without the necessity of hiring additional staff—so while it may seem like a lot of money, it actually will save the taxpayers quite a lot of money in the long run. I can’t thank the Senator enough for being so accessible and involved. Since his first day in office he has made it clear to us that he will do whatever he can to help law enforcement in Putnam—and he has been true to his word. This is a tremendous help.”

Sheriff Adrian “Butch” Anderson, Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, said, “The men and women in law enforcement today face many challenges, however additional License Plate Readers will greatly ease some of those challenges and go a long way towards making their jobs easier in the field. The money earmarked for the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office to purchase a stationary License Plate Reader through funding sponsored by Senator Harckham is very much appreciated, and having this invaluable tool at our disposal will greatly enhance our effectiveness as law enforcement officers. On behalf of the men and women of the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude to Senator Harckham and his staff for working so hard to make funds available to purchase this important equipment.”        

Sheriff Robert Langley, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, said, “The camera and LPR solutions are an invaluable tool for law enforcement for crime prevention strategy. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department is an active participant with the Westchester County Real Time Crime Center. The addition of LPR’s throughout Putnam County will only make our communities safer and enhance the capabilities of the Westchester County RTC. An example of how invaluable these LPR systems are is that on January 6, 2019 a young female was walking home in Mt. Kisco from a McDonalds. A male subject approached her and threatened her with a gun in an attempt to abduct her. Through the dedicated work of the RTC the subject was identified and his description along with the vehicle were put out to all agencies. On January 7th the LPR system alerted that the suspect’s vehicle was in the area of Putnam Valley at the Putnam County/Westchester County border.  Both the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and the Westchester County Police were able to apprehend the suspect who was found to be in possession of a loaded defaced handgun. I cannot express the importance of having LPR’s in our communities enough and thanks to Senator Peter Harckham we will have these invaluable crime fighting tools.”

James J, Schoenig, Mayor of Brewster, said, “The Village of Brewster is grateful to Senator Harckham for recognizing the Brewster Police Department’s commitment to public safety and service to the community by this award of $50,000 to be used for a new police vehicle. Our current public affairs environment requires our local law enforcement to do more to protect the community 24/7/365 and having the latest technology and dependable equipment is vital to performing this task above public expectations. The Village of Brewster community and the surrounding area will all benefit from heightened visibility and enforcement through this grant. Senator Harckham is serving the needs of our community and our local Village Police.”

Brian Pugh, Mayor of Croton-on-Hudson, said, “The Village of Croton appreciates Senator Harckham’s support in securing state funds to cover the cost of the new 4x4 hybrid police vehicle from Ford.  It is the first engineered hybrid of its kind to be pursuit rated and ready for police work. This hybrid will improve on our gas consumption and reduce emissions while maintaining the ability to respond throughout the Village of Croton during both ideal and inclement weather conditions. Further, the new hybrid has structural reinforcements that will make it more crash resistant than our current police Ford Explorer. Thank you to Senator Harckham for helping to keep our officers and community safe.”

Ilan Gilbert, Town Supervisor, Town of Yorktown said, “I’d like to thank Senator Peter Harckham for responding so quickly to his request to provide funding for the installation of radar speed signs at our local schools. This equipment displays the speed limit in the school zone and at the same time displays the driver’s actual speed, which has been shown to result in compliance with the speed limit thereby helping keep our children safe.”

Rick Morrissey, Town Supervisor, Town of Somers, said, “The Town of Somers is grateful for Senator Harckham's support in purchasing a police cruiser, as providing public safety is at the foundation of local government. These funds will allow the Town to enhance our public safety efforts without impacting our taxpayers.” 

Linda Puglisi, Town Supervisor, Town of Cortlandt said, “We thank Senator Peter Harckham for his work on securing a grant under the SAM program for an emergency response vehicle.  We appreciate of all his efforts in assisting our town.”