Over $1M to be given to Westmoreland County law enforcement through American Rescue Plan

GREENSBURG, Pa. — Thursday morning, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced more than $1 million in American Rescue Plan funds is being given to the county to help law enforcement.

The money comes through a partnership with State Senator Kim Ward.

“I think there is probably not a whole lot of better ways than to spend that money on law enforcement,” Ward said.

Part of that money will go toward expanding the license plate reader program across the county. That’s the camera you see on top of red lights at intersections all across the county.

Another big chunk of that money will go toward the creation of something called a fusion center.

“You would have agents from state agencies, federal agencies, and local county detectives all working out of the same space on different cases,” Ziccarelli said. “We would have an unsolved homicide room in there, and also our digital forensic lab which was funded through grant funding last year.”

The money would also go toward extending the CrimeWatch website for the county through 2026. It launched in December 2022 and is an app where you can see crime alerts, arrests, and news from the d-a’s office.

It will help fund the new records management system in the county for crime cases and also allow for municipal police departments to get updated equipment -- like tasers and radios.

New tasers will be purchased for the Southwest Greensburg Police Department, Trafford Borough, Rostraver, Murrysville, Derry Borough, and Mount Pleasant.

New radios will be purchased for Upper Burrell Township Police, Southwest Greensburg, Trafford Borough, Rostraver, Allegheny Township, Derry Borough, and Washington Township.

“To some departments, it means the world to them that they can be up to speed and they can be communicating with us,” Ziccarelli added.

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