Cartwright Announces Grant Awarded to the City of Scranton for Police Cruisers

Washington – Today, Congressman Matt Cartwright announced that a grant in the amount of $23,391 has been awarded to the City of Scranton through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (JAG).  The funds will be used to purchase two police cruisers for the Scranton Police Department. 

“Through this award, Scranton will be able to support activities needed to prevent crime and make our neighborhoods safer,” said Congressman Cartwright.  “JAG grants provide our local governments with the flexibility to use these funds in the best way to improve local law enforcement and the criminal justice system.  It’s a good day when the people who need help keeping our cities safe receive this funding.”

In a letter of support of this grant being awarded to Scranton sent to the Office of Justice Programs on July 19, 2013, Cartwright outlined the need for the new cruisers, “Currently, the Scranton Police Department (SPD) has 57 patrol vehicles.  However, 7 of these are out of service due to the need of repairs.  The goal of the SPD is to replace the older vehicles with newer and more fuel efficient vehicles.  The upkeep and repairs often take several vehicles out of service at one time.  This constrains effective, efficient responses to calls as two officers must take one car instead of one officer to one car.  The SPD has a force of 142 police officers.  These officers serve the 76,000 residents of Scranton.  The SPD has a Mutual Aid agreement with police departments throughout Lackawanna County, including Moosic, Dunmore, Taylor, Blakely, and Carbondale.  With the proposed improvements, the SPD will better serve residents in these municipal areas.  They will increase the calls answered and shorten response times.”