The Enfield Police Department has received a $24,121 grant from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Governor’s Crime Commission.
Chief Tyree Davis said this afternoon money from the grant will go towards equipment which will be used in the fight against gangs and drugs in Enfield. The equipment purchased may also be loaned to other departments, he said.
Davis received word of the grant acceptance today.
“It will allow us to purchase equipment to track and record — both audio and video — out in field suspected illegal drug transactions, gun sales and gang activity,” he said. “It will allow us to audio and video record any interviews and interrogations conducted at the police department.”
Currently the police department uses their body cameras for those purposes. The funds will allow the construction of a soundproof interview room at the police department.
Davis said the police department will buy around $22,000 worth of surveillance, recording and tracking equipment which includes a drone, two flir units — one which will attach to a drone and one which will be handheld. “We’re purchasing several live tracking devices to add to what the department already has and includes audio and video equipment that will go in any environment.”
The purchase from the grant includes a nearly $7,000 contraband density meter to help law enforcement find hidden compartments in vehicles and houses where drugs, guns or other illegal items might be hidden.
This is the second straight grant the department has received from the commission, after it was awarded $21,000 in an application submitted by former Captain Dreher Bozard. Funds from that grant went to purchase new uniforms, body cameras, firearms and defibrillators.
Said Davis of the just-awarded grant, “With this grant we’re able to have state of the art audio and video recording for interrogations and surveillance. We don’t want to limit this to Enfield. We will loan it to other agencies to fight drugs and gangs as well. Only law enforcement cares about jurisdictional boundaries — the criminals don’t. When you only try to help your jurisdiction, law enforcement and the community loses and criminals win.”
