Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday that the state Division of Criminal Justice Services Law Enforcement Technology awarded a total of $127 million to 378 separate law enforcement agencies in the state, including multiple departments across the Mid-Hudson Valley.
The largest share in Ulster County went to the city of Kingston Police Department, with $1,149,000. Other grants to Ulster County police departments included $211,500 for the Ulster County Sheriff's Office; $46,287 to Lloyd; $99,000 to Marlborough; $47,757 to Rosendale; $115,800 to Plattekill; and $70,500 to the town of Ulster.
Among agencies in Dutchess County, the Rhinebeck Village Police Department received $230,000 and the Dutchess County Sheriff's Department received $192,800.
The funding can be used for equipment and technology including license plate readers, mobile and fixed surveillance cameras, computer-aided dispatch systems, software, unmanned aerial vehicles, gunshot detection devices, and smart equipment for patrol vehicles and police officers, Hochul's office announced.
Kingston Mayor Steve Noble said called the grant an "unprecedented investment" that "will allow us to continue to modernize our operations and procedures." He added, "With this funding, we will be able to increase public safety with the addition of new and upgraded technology, which will also allow our officers to spend more of their time connecting directly with our community."
Kingston Police Chief Egidio Tinti said in a statement that the department has become increasingly reliant on technology in recent years. "Computers and workstations are on every desk and in every patrol car, providing our officers with information at their fingertips," Tinti said in a prepared statement. "This grant will allow us to upgrade and expand our information technology systems within the police department and throughout the city."
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