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JSO receives funds for new equipment

April 29, 2009|Bob Flynn

Sheriff's deputies patrolling the roads of Jessamine County soon will have another weapon at their disposal to help keep both themselves and residents safer, thanks to the efforts of Congressman Ben Chandler.

Chandler presented Sheriff Kevin Corman with a check for $75,000 Monday to be use to purchase video and audio equipment for every patrol cruiser in the department's fleet.

The money was earmarked in this year's federal budget specifically to purchase emergency equipment for Jessamine County.

"This money is not stimulus money. This is money that I got put in this year's budget myself. This is an earmark, one of those bad things that they talk about," Chandler said. "The sheriff's office is a first responder. He and his staff do an enormous job keeping the people safe here in Jessamine county and they need communications equipment and safety equipment and things like that. So this is a way to help them out and make sure they can continue to keep the people of Jessamine county safe."

Corman said the department had cameras in a few cruisers now, but the new equipment is specially designed for patrol cars and would provide much better video.

"We have a few cameras in some vehicles, but the ones we have been able to purchase in the past really haven't been designed for the every day jarring and vibration they get in the cruisers. These are designed to handle that and put out quality video," Corman said. "It has become a major obstacle any more, just based on testimony, to prosecute a DUI or whatever. But now when you've got it in color with sound it will help us with our court cases in addition to just basically keeping people honest."

There are 23 cruisers in the department, with 16 on active patrol at all times, and Corman said the money would equip all 16 patrol units with video cameras.

He said without them money from Chandler his office would never have been able to purchase the video equipment.

"We would not have been able to afford this equipment without this money. The fact that we are a fee office and the court subsidizes our budget, and with this economy, it's asking a lot to ask the court to keep our budget the same even," Corman said. "We're trying to find other ways to maintain our budget without asking the court for more money. So far this year it has worked."

The video is an added safety feature for the officer and also the public because it automatically begins recording and anything that happens during a traffic stop or arrest will be captured on video and can be used in court.

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