INDIAN TIME - Vol. 24 #31 - Seskeha / August 10, 2006 Edition - Page 17

AKWESASNE - The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council announced that the Tribal Police Department has been awarded a $150,000 grant from the Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (C.O.P.S.). The Tribal Council submitted an application in May 2005 and the resulting funds will be used to upgrade current equipment and technology.

The Tribal Council is pleased that the funding will help the Tribal police department to provide for a safer Akwesasne community. The 16-member Tribal police force is responsible for enforcing laws on the U.S. side of the Akwesasne Community. In addition to serving Akwesasne, the Tribal police patrol nearly 12 miles of International border.

The Tribal Police Department intends to utilize the funds to install in-car cameras and laptop computers to increase officer safety. The laptops work cohesively with the cameras and will also enable officers to communicate wirelessly with dispatch for data inquiries, data retrievals, and immediate alerts and cautions. In addition, they will also use the funds to purchase service weapons, shotguns, taser guns, digital cameras, military type binoculars, body armor, and other needed equipment.

"Our police department has done a tremendous job in policing our community with the limited resources they have. The Tribal Council appreciates the funds for the needed equipment our officers will utilize to continue their work keeping the Akwesasne community safe," said Tribal Chief Barbara A. Lazore.

The C.O.P.S. Tribal Resource Grant Program (T.R.G.P.) is a comprehensive program designed to meet the needs of Native American communities throughout the United States. The program is designed to provide funding for a variety of needs such as training, uniforms, basic issues, technologies, police vehicles, and additional hires. For fiscal year 2006, the C.O.P.S. T.R.G.P. received approximately $15 million for Federal recognized Tribal policing agencies in the United States.

According to Tribal Deputy Chief of Police Brian Barnes, "The money addresses a portion of funding needed to update equipment that many other police department discarded of years ago." He added, "The new computers will enable our officers to spend more of their time in the field protecting our community against criminal activity instead of behind a desk writing reports."

Also, last week the Tribal Council received notice that the Tribal Police will be receiving $16,500 from the Department of Homeland Security. In previous years the Tribe received $5,000 and welcomes the increase in this funding. This year's funds will go toward preparing our community for a potential pandemic flu outbreak.