FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		CONTACT: MURFY ALEXANDER
JULY 27, 2006		ANNE SMART
		615.736.5295

LEBANON POLICE DEPARTMENT GRANT WILL GIVE OFFICERS
INSTANT ACCESS TO LOCAL RECORDS
— $13,000 U.S. Department of Justice grant will purchase wireless network

 

NASHVILLE — The City of Lebanon has been awarded a grant of over $13,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice to purchase a wireless network that will support mobile data terminals for the Lebanon Police Department and Wilson County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper announced today.

"This grant is great news,” Cooper said. “It means the brave men and women in uniform who protect our communities will be able to access the information they need at critical times in their work. My congratulations to Chief Bowen and the City of Lebanon on winning this important grant.”

The $13,054 will be used to purchase and install a wireless network that police officers will be able to connect to from laptops in their patrol cars. It will give them instant access to local records and ‘wanted’ lists and will allow them to make license and registration checks directly from their location in the field. Currently, they have to make calls to the local dispatcher to retrieve that information. Lebanon Police Department Chief Scott Bowen hopes to have the wireless network in place later this year.

"The Lebanon Police Department is very happy to receive this grant,” Bowen said. “These funds will be used to purchase cutting edge technology for the department.”

The funding is part of the 2006 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. The JAG program supports a broad range of activities across the country to prevent and control crime in communities based on local needs and conditions.

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