GRAY POLICE DEPARTMENT
Deciding how to spend over a half-million dollars is an enviable task that is currently being tackled by Gray Police Chief Adam Lowe.
The chief announced the receipt of the Community Public Safety Grant at the close of the City of Gray’s June 5 Council meeting, before the official announcement by Gov. Brian Kemp came out June. 8. The $528,896 grant received by the GPD was part of a $83.5 million announcement.
Lowe said he was informed of the grant award in a phone from State Sen. Rick Williams.
In a list of the grants contained in the governor’s press release, GPD’s portion is to be used for the installation of equipment for patrol vehicles and to improve officer and public safety.
Kemp said the qualified projects were to improve community- level challenges that arose during the pandemic.
“With the increase in violent crime seen in communities across the country, including here in our state, we’re sending reinforcements to keep hardworking Georgians and their neighborhoods safe,” he said. “From tackling staffing needs to deploying new equipment and technology, these funds are being invested so our brave first responders have the resources they need to fight back against dangerous criminals.”
Lowe said he asked GPD Sgt. Mark Robinson to write the grant application. Robinson, who was in the middle of working on the police department’s state certification, said he started working on the grant the end of August.
The sergeant said writing the grant took him eight weeks. He said he used knowledge obtained from writing a previous grant to put together the public safety grant application.
“I felt like I knew what they were looking for. We weren’t successful with the COPS grant because we didn’t have enough violent crime,” he said.
Robinson said he used crime statistics from Baldwin County and Bibb County to show the city is surrounded by crime. Vehicles driving to these counties come through Gray.
“We know that from traffic stops, and I used all that information,” he said.
Lowe said guns used in Baldwin County have been recovered in traffic stops, and guns from Warner Robins were seized on their way to Milledgeville.
Robinson said he enlisted the help of engineers to look at areas in the city where cameras are needed. He said the cost of the cameras and servers needed to use and store their information was all put in the application.
The sergeant said the application included eight 500- to 1,000word essays, each on a different topic. He said the GPD application was submitted well before the deadline and was number 32.
Spending plan
Lowe said the department plans to add two more Flock cameras, which would bring the total in the city to 11. The funds will be used to purchase the new cameras and help pay for the ones already in place.
He said GPD officers all need new body cameras.
He said they were down to four body cams that were working.
The chief said officers would be getting new dash cameras for their patrol vehicles.
“These will both be automatic. Officers will not have to turn them on to activate,” he said.
Lowe said two more tag readers will be purchased and three overview cameras that will be located on Highway 18, the Bill Conn Connector and the downtown crossing intersection.
He said none of the cameras are speed detector cameras.
“If someone comes to Gray to commit crime, these are the best tools there have ever been,” he said.
The chief said the cameras will also be useful for Amber Alerts and to help find missing persons.
Lowe said they know the bypass is going to continue to grow, and the plan is to stay ahead of the game.
“We are going to secure the heart of Gray. The way the cameras will be set up, there will be nothing we can’t capture,” the chief said.
He said he is most excited about the body cams and in-car cameras for the officers.
“I personally contacted the governor and thanked him. This is the largest amount the city has ever received to my knowledge, and it will do nothing but make the city safer,” Lowe said.
The chief thanked Robinson for his work on the application.
“This is a big burden off local taxpayers,” Lowe said. “It will not only benefit Gray but also Jones County and surrounding areas.”
