The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office and Morgantown Police Department will receive funds as part of more than
$376 million in grant funding awarded through the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department will receive $15,371. Sheriff Perry Palmer said the funds will be used to purchase new desktop computers and monitors for the department.
The Morgantown Police department will receive $13,734, which will be used for the replacement of outdated and unserviceable radio equipment, according to Morgantown Communications Manager Andrew Stacy.
All told, $350,520 will support public safety activities in the Northern District of West Virginia, according to the press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia.
The awards were made by the department’s Office of Justice Programs.
“Crime and violence hold families, friends and neighborhoods hostage, and they rip communities apart,” OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan said in the release. “These programs help restore the health and safety of crime-ravaged communities by supporting prevention activities, aiding in the apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators, facilitating appropriate sentencing and adjudication and providing communities and their residents the means for recovery and healing.”
The awards support an array of crime-fighting initiatives, including the quarter-billion dollar Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grants Program, which funds public safety efforts in 929 state, local and tribal jurisdictions.
Funding also supports sex offender registration and notification, law enforcement-based victim services, the testing of sexual assault kits and programs designed to address youth with sexual behavioral problems.
Other awards will focus on wrongful convictions, intellectual property enforcement, innovative prosecution strategies and the safety and effectiveness of corrections systems.
Along with funds for the MPD and Mon sheriff, the following awards were made to organizations in the Northern District of West Virginia:
City of Wheeling, Wheeling Police Department: $295,163
City of Martinsburg, Martinsburg Police Department: $13,575
Berkeley County Council, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office: $12,677
Statewide, the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation received $250,000, and the West Virginia Division of Administrative Services, Justice and Community Services received $1,191,487.
