Saginaw PD gets nearly 1M in grants; New Tech Planned

The Saginaw police department just got a massive helping hand when it comes to fighting the city’s more serious crimes.

A 3-year grant for $646,706 from the U.S. Department of Justice will allow Saginaw police to begin implementing tactics other cities across the country have put in place to lower their crime rates.

Approved at this week’s City Council meeting, the ‘Strategies for policing innovation’ grant’s incorporation already has some ideas coming from Police Chief Bob Ruth.

First on the list? A series of security cameras around the city, which can be controlled by the department to monitor ongoing situations ahead of police arrival not un-similar to the camera system in Baltimore, MD.

At this week’s meeting, Council also approved the use of 3 other grants for the police department:

-A grant worth $28,499.95 from State Homeland Security for a Throw-Phone system;

-A grant worth $276,000 from the US Department of Justice Civil Rights office for a Victim Specialist Program;

-and a $30,000 “Strategy to Enhance Law Enforcement Response to Victim” grant,

…all adding up to $981,205.95 in overall grant funding.

Ruth said residents don’t need to worry about a “Big Brother”-type situation with the coming system, because police are using it for more serious crimes like shootings and robberies.