kytnradios
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- Aug 18, 2007
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- 39
Paducah Police Get $314K Grant for New Radios
By Tim Brockwell, West Kentucky Star
Friday 10/9/20
PADUCAH - The Paducah Police Department will soon be getting more than $300,000 in grant money to go toward replacing officers' aging radios.
Chief Brian Laird told West Kentucky Star the radios are a vital piece of equipment his officers use every day to perform their duties. As the equipment ages, parts wear out and need to be replaced.
"[The radios] are all getting older. They're discontinued on replacement parts, things like that. Batteries are not being manufactured anymore, so it was time to upgrade those," Laird said.
The $314,450 grant funded by the Department of Homeland Security does not require a local match. Laird said this is important because no money will have to come out of the department's budget.
"That's what's so good about it and important to us, is that it's money we didn't have to budget for, money that didn't come out of the city or police department's budget," he said.
The department has been replacing a few radios per year for the last several years, according to Laird. He said the grant will go a long way toward enabling it to replace most of the remaining units by early next year.
"For the last several years we've been utilizing grant money to replace some of our radios. We usually average about four or five radios a year. This grant will cover probably about 75 or 80 percent of what's needed, but we won't know exactly how far the money will go until we talk with the manufacturer to see if we can get any discounts," Laird said.
"Portable radios, the ones that the officers carry, that's their lifeline to the dispatch center to communicate with other officers. It's a piece of equipment that's used every day. They typically last for several years, but ultimately they have to be replaced. That's what this grant allows us to do."
By Tim Brockwell, West Kentucky Star
Friday 10/9/20
PADUCAH - The Paducah Police Department will soon be getting more than $300,000 in grant money to go toward replacing officers' aging radios.
Chief Brian Laird told West Kentucky Star the radios are a vital piece of equipment his officers use every day to perform their duties. As the equipment ages, parts wear out and need to be replaced.
"[The radios] are all getting older. They're discontinued on replacement parts, things like that. Batteries are not being manufactured anymore, so it was time to upgrade those," Laird said.
The $314,450 grant funded by the Department of Homeland Security does not require a local match. Laird said this is important because no money will have to come out of the department's budget.
"That's what's so good about it and important to us, is that it's money we didn't have to budget for, money that didn't come out of the city or police department's budget," he said.
The department has been replacing a few radios per year for the last several years, according to Laird. He said the grant will go a long way toward enabling it to replace most of the remaining units by early next year.
"For the last several years we've been utilizing grant money to replace some of our radios. We usually average about four or five radios a year. This grant will cover probably about 75 or 80 percent of what's needed, but we won't know exactly how far the money will go until we talk with the manufacturer to see if we can get any discounts," Laird said.
"Portable radios, the ones that the officers carry, that's their lifeline to the dispatch center to communicate with other officers. It's a piece of equipment that's used every day. They typically last for several years, but ultimately they have to be replaced. That's what this grant allows us to do."
