Police Departments and Sheriff’s Offices throughout Missouri, awarded state funded-Blue Shield grants have been using the funds to pay for a variety of law enforcement equipment. Rolla Assistant Chief Will Loughridge says in their case, the $50,000 grant has enabled the department to make some key technical upgrades that would not have been covered in their normal budget. Rolla has used part of the funding to purchase several new mobile fingerprint scanners for patrol cars. Loughridge says they also purchased a ground robot, which can be used in potentially explosive situations to ensure officers’ safety. The $8,000 remote-controlled robot can be used to clear buildings if there’s a potentially armed person, or if there’s a suspicious package. Rolla also purchased more squad-car ticket printers, computer equipment and some storage items for the department.
Rolla PD was among the first round of recipients of the Blue Shield grant program, and is applying for a second grant.
Nearly $10 million in state grants were announced last fall to designated “Blue Shield” communities. More than 200 counties, cities, and towns earned the designation. Those communities could then compete for $50,000 for training, equipment, and technology. Sixty-counties, 137 cities and four towns were approved.
Blue Shield awards to communities include:
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388 Mobile Data Terminals
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351 Body Cameras
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151 License Plate Readers
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102 Ballistic Vests
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91 Interoperable Radios
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56 Vehicles
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