CLEARFIELD -- Grants are helping the city make a big investment in public safety.
Clearfield City Police Chief Greg Krusi said the city has received a portion of $625,000 in federal and state grant money that has helped purchase new equipment and upgrades to improve public safety.
Purchases include a 400-pound T-3 personal transporter that allows the operator an elevated view and has siren and light capabilities to help with community policing. It will be used in dry weather to patrol trails and parks. Its top speed is about 20 miles an hour.
Planned purchases include 20 new rifle holographic weapon sights for existing patrol rifles, a digital pole camera system, software providing "hot spot" technology and computer-aided dispatch tablets for the officers.
Krusi said the city faces problems with break-ins at park bathrooms, burned playground equipment, vandalized concession stands and unsightly graffiti.
But dealing with those issues could soon be easier.
Clearfield is awaiting approval for a $425,000 COPS/Burn grant that would allow the city to purchase and install approximately 12 digital cameras and 32 CAD tablets. The camera system would cost $225,000 of the $425,000.
"The cameras would be connected to our dispatch center, providing 24-hour surveillance," Krusi said. "This would not only act as a deterrent to drug activity, but would also help as a prosecution tool by providing high-resolution imaging to assist with identification."
These cameras would be installed in public spaces with an emphasis on the parks and trail systems.
"The business we are in is making residents feel safe," Krusi said. "We want to have them be able to move about in their daily lives and not have to worry about being a victim of a crime."
Right now, the only pole camera the city has is placed at Fisher Park Skate Park because of skater safety concerns.
The remaining $200,000 from the $425,000 grant would pay for the CAD tablets.
The CAD tablets are wireless dash-mounted computer tablets for officers to use in the field. They allow officers and dispatchers to instantaneously view an individual's image and personal information imported from other state and local agencies.
It also permits officers to use geo-based software to show where drug and other crimes are concentrated for improved, targeted enforcement in those "hot spot" areas.
"This 'hot spot' technology allows our department to look for any crime trends in the city within a week or month by charting case reports," Krusi said.
For instance, it could tell them if auto or residential burglaries are happening in one particular area. With that knowledge, the shift commanders are aware of the problem area and can place the manpower where it needs to be until the problem is eliminated.
This new system also permits officers writing citations and other report documents to swipe a driver's license and other state-issued ID cards into the wireless tablet. It instantly downloads citations and report files into the police system, justice court system and the state data base.
This ultimately saves taxpayer dollars and decreases the amount of time previously necessary to manually input this data, Krusi explained.
Krusi said they are expecting to hear about the grant before the end of October.
"Whenever we apply for grants, we are hopeful to get them," he said. "But that doesn't mean they do come through."
However, he said, the city has a good track record with grants. He added that grants are the reason the police department is able to stay current with technology and the latest crime-fighting equipment.
"A city our size isn't normally able to budget for this equipment," Krusi said. "We just don't have the tax base and the ability to budget for these items."
City Manager Chris Hillman agreed, saying that the tight economy has led to shrinking budgets that can't provide for the needed equipment.
"We wouldn't be able to do this ourselves," he said. "We are able to purchase equipment, even in tight times because of these grants."
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