6 rural northern Arkansas law enforcement agencies receiving grants

GREEN FOREST, Ark. (KY3) - The Arkansas Department of Public Safety (ADPS) awarded several law enforcement agencies grants.

The state legislature and Governor Asa Hutchinson established the Public Safety Equipment Grant program in 2021.

The local agencies in northern Arkansas that have received funding in 2023 include:

• Bull Shoals Police Dept. $20,699.94
• Flippin Police Dept. $13,497.33
• Green Forest Police Dept. $33,110.00
• Jasper Police Dept. $17,999.61
• Marion County Government $20,071.83
• Newton County Sheriff’s Office $62,673.51

The Green Forest Police Department says state funding is crucial in smaller communities where the same budget isn’t available.

“The state support is wonderful because communities our size don’t have the same funding as larger cities have when it comes to generated revenue for the city,” said Police Chief John Bailey.

Chief Bailey says the department plans to use the awarded funding to install laptops in all patrol vehicles to increase presence and processing times.

“Well, overall, it will help keep guys out on the street longer,” he said. “As it is right now, if they do write a citation either at the end of the shift or sometime during the shift, they have to bring the paperwork in, where this will allow us to do the E-citation.”

Green Forest says the addition of laptops in patrol vehicles will likely benefit the community by increasing processing times, police presence, and response time through the dispatch center.

“It’s there to streamline the things that we do,” said Chief Bailey. “In an accident investigation, they can pull up the information they need there instead of going through dispatch, so dispatch can stay focused on the calls that they’re already working on.”

Meanwhile, other small agencies that wear many hats, like the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, can choose to use the funding for needed training.

“Any given deputy at any given time has to be ready to respond to a search and rescue, maybe get in a boat and rescue someone,” said Newton County Sheriff Glenn Wheeler.

Sheriff Wheeler says Newton County struggles with funding across the board and state funding is crucial in improving services.

CLICK HERE to read more information on the Public Safety Equipment Grant.

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