Carrollton Leader > News
Federal funds keep police up to speed
By SARAH BLASKOVICH, Community Editor
Carrollton police were given more eyes for watching crime when Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas, secured a $350,000 grant for his hometown.
The money will allow Carrollton to purchase mobile license plate readers for squad cars and portable digital cameras to mount in areas of high crime, said Police Chief David James. He said it’s the largest grant he’s seen in his 13 years at the police department.
The two high-tech devices may thwart future crimes and could have been instrumental in past crime cases, police said. The string of robberies and murder that occurred in Carrollton and Dallas in mid-December could have been investigated with the use of a license plate scanner. The device stores the geographical location, time and date of vehicles scanned by police. The database will then be useful if police are trying to determine if a suspect has entered Carrollton recently, James said.
The result could be widespread, he said.
“These tools will help us detect and be aware of those people if they’re moving across our city. We may find someone who’s wanted out of Dallas, or another part of the state,” he said. “(We) will be able to use them regionally.”
About 63 to 65 percent of offenses in Carrollton are committed by non-Carrollton residents, a “pretty typical” occurrence in the suburbs, James said.
The men suspected of robbing two apartment residences in Carrollton in mid-December, for instance, are Dallas residents. Police believe the suspects in question then went to Dallas and came back to Carrollton. The new technology pushed through by Marchant may help police identify criminals upon their return to the city.
The portable digital cameras will also help police watch areas such as apartment complexes that cannot be patrolled all the time.
Both James and Mayor Becky Miller cited the positive use of surveillance cameras in identifying Ernesto Reyes, who is suspected of killing a 19-year-old college student and leaving her body on a Carrollton property. Reyes is believed to be caught on the tape from a nearby office building, as well as on cameras in at least two gas stations in Carrollton.
“It was lucky,” Miller said. “You never know where people are going to go. (This equipment) will just help keep our city safer.”
James said police will mount the cameras in areas that have experienced frequent property crimes. Miller hopes the devices will help alleviate vandalism.
Miller and city council members visit representatives and senators in Washington, D.C., once a year to petition for money and initiatives for Carrollton. The city requested new technology for the police force in February 2007, and the money was officially awarded Monday.
The grant, totaling $325,500, stemmed from a law enforcement assistance program from the Department of Justice. They money came out of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill.
The money has not been received by the city yet, and James estimated that it will take six months to one year to get the programs in place and to purchase the equipment.
Carrollton will be one of the few cities in the area with the license plate scanners and portable cameras, Miller said.
“It could really put us out there,” she said. “We’re not really a suburb anymore, we’re more urban. This will really put us ahead.”
Contact Community Editor Sarah Blaskovich at 972-628-4074 or SBlaskovich@acnpapers.com.
The money will allow Carrollton to purchase mobile license plate readers for squad cars and portable digital cameras to mount in areas of high crime, said Police Chief David James. He said it’s the largest grant he’s seen in his 13 years at the police department.
The two high-tech devices may thwart future crimes and could have been instrumental in past crime cases, police said. The string of robberies and murder that occurred in Carrollton and Dallas in mid-December could have been investigated with the use of a license plate scanner. The device stores the geographical location, time and date of vehicles scanned by police. The database will then be useful if police are trying to determine if a suspect has entered Carrollton recently, James said.
The result could be widespread, he said.
“These tools will help us detect and be aware of those people if they’re moving across our city. We may find someone who’s wanted out of Dallas, or another part of the state,” he said. “(We) will be able to use them regionally.”
About 63 to 65 percent of offenses in Carrollton are committed by non-Carrollton residents, a “pretty typical” occurrence in the suburbs, James said.
The men suspected of robbing two apartment residences in Carrollton in mid-December, for instance, are Dallas residents. Police believe the suspects in question then went to Dallas and came back to Carrollton. The new technology pushed through by Marchant may help police identify criminals upon their return to the city.
The portable digital cameras will also help police watch areas such as apartment complexes that cannot be patrolled all the time.
Both James and Mayor Becky Miller cited the positive use of surveillance cameras in identifying Ernesto Reyes, who is suspected of killing a 19-year-old college student and leaving her body on a Carrollton property. Reyes is believed to be caught on the tape from a nearby office building, as well as on cameras in at least two gas stations in Carrollton.
“It was lucky,” Miller said. “You never know where people are going to go. (This equipment) will just help keep our city safer.”
James said police will mount the cameras in areas that have experienced frequent property crimes. Miller hopes the devices will help alleviate vandalism.
Miller and city council members visit representatives and senators in Washington, D.C., once a year to petition for money and initiatives for Carrollton. The city requested new technology for the police force in February 2007, and the money was officially awarded Monday.
The grant, totaling $325,500, stemmed from a law enforcement assistance program from the Department of Justice. They money came out of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill.
The money has not been received by the city yet, and James estimated that it will take six months to one year to get the programs in place and to purchase the equipment.
Carrollton will be one of the few cities in the area with the license plate scanners and portable cameras, Miller said.
“It could really put us out there,” she said. “We’re not really a suburb anymore, we’re more urban. This will really put us ahead.”
Contact Community Editor Sarah Blaskovich at 972-628-4074 or SBlaskovich@acnpapers.com.
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