HUNTINGTON — The Huntington Police Department has been awarded a little more than $1.8 million in U.S. Department of Justice grants to help fund innovative programs and continue to support the police department.
The $1,872,987 will fund initiatives such as the Turn Around program to reduce injury and death of missing people with dementia and developmental disabilities and to support community policing endeavors such as tactical medicine training for surrounding agencies.
“Law enforcement is not just arresting your way out of problems,” Police Chief Phil Watkins said at a press conference Tuesday. “We’ve got to be innovative, and we’ve got to partner with the right people to put ourselves in a position to make advances in our community.”
Watkins said receiving the $1.8 million in grant money is all because the police department collaborates with city and legislative officials such as U.S. Attorney Will Thompson and U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.
“We talk about collaborations and partnerships. We can’t do this as a police department if we don’t have a mayor who’s supportive of us right on to Councilman (Todd) Sweeney and the rest of our City Council. We have got such a phenomenal relationship with all of our city government right now. That’s why we’re able to accomplish these things,” Watkins said.
The four grants the police department received were $650,000 to improve the Adult & Youth Crisis Stabilization and Community Reentry Program, $150,000 for the Kevin and Avonte Program to reduce injury and death of missing individuals with dementia and developmental disabilities, $692,0000 Byrne Jag earmark grant and $380,620 Community Oriented Policing Grant.
The $650,000 grant for the Improving Adult & Youth Crisis Stabilization and Community Reentry Program will fund the department’s Turn Around program. Watkins said the program was successful before the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will allow the police department to partner with Prestera and the Western Regional Jail. Prestera mental health case managers will prepare inmates for their release back into society. The goal is to reduce recidivism and provide resources to individuals who often fall into gaps within the continuum of care. The project is in the planning stage and is also exploring youth program options.
The Kevin and Avonte Program will reduce injury and death of people with dementia and developmental disabilities who go missing. The award will fund locative technology for individuals with cognitive disabilities to prevent wandering emergencies. HPD will partner with local health care providers to identify people most suited for the program.
Watkins said when applying for the grant, Charles “Chuck” Carroll came to mind. Carroll, who Huntington police reported had been diagnosed with dementia, wandered out of Cabell Huntington Hospital after getting there by ambulance from an assisted living facility. Carroll was not reported missing until nearly a week later and ultimately found deceased in a shed near the hospital. That happened nearly a year ago.
The Byrne Jag Earmark grant congressionally appropriated award from Capito will fund community policing endeavors for the Huntington Police Department. This will include the salaries of an additional mental health liaison and community outreach coordinators, tactical medicine training for surrounding agencies and more.
The Community Oriented Policing Grant will expand the Crisis Intervention Team operations from a daytime schedule to evening and off-hour operations. HPD will use the funding for a full-time mental health worker, a part-time community outreach coordinator, a vehicle and a sworn officer’s overtime.
Mayor Steve Williams said the funding will help continue the impact on the community the Huntington Police Department is already achieving.
“The effect is impacting our community,” Williams said. “Presently, the property crime in Huntington is at the lowest since 1985; violent crime is lower than the violent crime statistics of 1985 and the lowest since 2013. Our reported offenses in 2020, 2021 and 2022 were the lowest since 2010. We have received over $22.1 million this year on top of the $1.8 million and $12.8 million in grants. The fact of the matter is that the way that we have to go about policing is to make sure that crisis intervention teams are put in place so that we know how to de-escalate those that are having behavioral mental health crises.
“Our job is to make sure that our neighborhoods are safe. Nothing less is acceptable, and the beauty of the Huntington Police Department of Honor, Pride, and Duty is they do that 365 days a year, 24 hours a day,” Williams said.