WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to three West Virginia police departments and West Virginia University (WVU) Potomac State.

These awards, which were secured through Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests made by Senator Capito, will be used to upgrade equipment, facilities, training, and security resources for police departments and the university.

“West Virginia’s police officers show up to work every day to keep our communities and families safe. I was proud to secure these resources that will help officers more efficiently perform their duty of protecting and serving,” Senator Capito said. “Securing the use-of-force simulator for Charleston’s Police Department will help better train the officers in de-escalation tactics and keep the city safe. By equipping the Charles Town Police Department with the tools they need in the field, they can better respond to emergencies. At WVU Potomac State, the new integrated lock system and additional security cameras will provide students greater safety and can help officers in their work. And by upgrading the security system at the Milton Police Department, the building will become more protected as they serve their community and investigate crimes.”

Individual award details listed below:

  • $750,000 in DOJ CDS funding to the City of Charleston, W.Va. to procure, install, and train its police officers in the use of "Response to Resistance & Aggression Simulator," sometimes known as a use of force simulator. Training will address challenges in police-community relations leading proactive departments – such as Charleston – to explore and implement best practices for de-escalation, crisis intervention, and non-force approaches to crime prevention and public safety.
  • $400,000 in DOJ CDS funding to the City of Charles Town, W.Va. to upgrade law enforcement technology tools, including new Mobile Police Offices in cruisers (consisting of technology installations and upgrades with laptops, mobile printers, radar, and other communications equipment), communications technology equipment training, and first aid safety.
  • $358,000 in DOJ CDS funding to WVU Potomac State (Keyser, W.Va.) to install a new, state-of-the-art locking system and additional security cameras at residence halls to protect students and aid in the investigation of crimes committed on campus.
  • $63,000 in CDS funding to the City of Milton, W.Va. for the purchase and installation of access control and live scan fingerprint station at the department, allowing control entry with date and time stamp and the ability to immediately fingerprint and cross reference to the state and FBI database.

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