×

Technology upgrades

Salem Foundation grant helps Perry police

Morning Journal/Mary Ann Greier From left, Salem Community Foundation President John Tonti and Grants Coordinator Melissa Costa gather with Perry Township Police Patrolman William Hewitt, Sgt. Rich Kimble and Chief Mike Emigh with some of the new technology funded through a $30,000 grant from SCF.

SALEM — A $30,000 grant from the Salem Community Foundation helped Perry Township police recently upgrade aging technology.

“This makes us more efficient in doing our job,” Chief Mike Emigh said.

Besides replacing the computers, hard drive storage and printers in the office, the grant allowed for new body cameras, new radios in the cars, new digital radios for officers to carry with them and new automated external defibrillator (AED) devices.

An extremely happy Emigh said, “I am very appreciative of the Salem Community Foundation in helping us get badly needed equipment.”

He also said he’s appreciative of the township trustees for their foresight in seeing the need for the new equipment. He was grateful for their help to get the opportunity to secure a grant.

“Salem Community Foundation is committed to extending a hand of partnership to local law enforcement agencies. Together we continue to build a safer and more vibrant community through this community impact grant. Our community foundation gives priority to applications for financial assistance that will enrich the quality of life, have a lasting impact in the Salem area, and will make a significant difference for the requesting organization,” SCF grants coordinator Melissa Costa said.

She explained that the SCF Board of Directors granted the money this past summer from the Ruth Harkins McKeown Fund.

“The specialized equipment purchased will increase the department’s technology significantly and will be used to keep Perry Township and City of Salem citizens safe,” Costa said.

SCF president John Tonti said members of the police department were easy to work with. They knew exactly what they needed and put together a list of what they wanted.

The new office equipment included two Dell Precision Workstation computers and two Dell UltraSharp LCD monitors, an 8 TB (terabyte) hard drive for body cameras, a 12 TB Synology storage system and a Brother multifunction printer.

The computers replaced were seven to nine years old and too slow and outdated, plus the backup storage was nearly full and couldn’t be updated. There wasn’t enough storage space for the video footage from the department’s old body cameras, which apparently were no longer under warranty and way beyond their lifespan.

With the grant, the department purchased four new VISTA Wi-Fi/Bluetooth wireless body cameras with a three-year warranty.

The radios, which serve as a lifeline between an officer and dispatch, were also outdated and needed replaced. The department had a Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) purchased in 2008 with four handheld radios used to communicate with dispatch at the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office, which also uses MARCS. The township has a mutual aid agreement with Salem, which uses digital radios, and had digital radios installed in their cars to be able to talk with Salem officers. Once they were out of their cars, though, they couldn’t talk to the Salem officers.

Emigh stressed the importance of the radios for officers to communicate with each other and with other departments in cases of mutual aid.

The grant purchased four MARCS mobile radios and four Motorola digital radios, allowing Perry officers to easily communicate with Salem officers inside and outside their police cars.

The old AED devices were purchased in 2007 and carried in police cars in case of emergency. The new units purchased included two Zoll AED Plus devices.

According to a press release by Costa, the new AED Plus “has clear voice prompts, visuals, and text display to guide the user through the entire resuscitation process. The AED Plus will provide real-time feedback on rate and depth of CPR compression, guide you through the process of treating a victim of suspected sudden cardiac arrest. First Aid training on the AED devices is provided by the Salem Community Center.”

SCF board members assess and respond to the changing needs of the community by reviewing requests during the competitive grant process four times a year.

“SCF administers grants to organizations through a diverse collection of 126 charitable funds which honor the donor’s intentions and positively impact our community,” Costa said.

Anyone interested in establishing an endowment fund at SCF can contact Costa at 330-332-4021, or by email at scfoffice@salemcommunityfoundation.org.

.mgreier@salemnews.net

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today