Elizabethton receives rural policing grant

The Elizabethton Police Department received a $149,999 grant from the Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative (RVCRI) program to support a two-year program to decrease crime in the area. The department will use the funding to purchase and install automated license plate readers (ALPR) to help provide real-time data coinciding with alert technology identifying stolen vehicles, AMBER Alerts, Silver Alerts, and others. The system increases the possibility of officers being able to locate vehicles of interest. The funds will also be used to buy equipment to enhance recording equipment and systems in the department’s interview rooms, which will put it on the same system presently used by in-car recording devices, as well as upgrade storage capacity for these recordings. The department will also being able to use a 3D laser scanning system that can help in crime scene documentation and reconstruction.