Press Releases

Today, Rep. Matt Cartwright (PA-08) announced the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has authorized the release of $6 million in Community Project Funding dollars to support police and first responders in Scranton and Luzerne County.

The projects, funded at the Congressman’s request, include:

Law enforcement training program and technology upgrades, $3.5 million, awarded to the City of Scranton and Scranton Police Department

This project will help improve the Scranton Police Department’s community policing efforts by purchasing new body cameras, mobile video recorders and tasers. The new equipment and technology will allow the Scranton Police Department to manage the use of force reporting, direct supervisor audits of specific incident types and add virtual reality and other training modules for officers.

Creation of a county-wide emergency first responder unit, $2.5 million, awarded to the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office

This project for the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office supports a collaborative effort to create a county-wide unit of first responders from multiple jurisdictions to respond to emergency situations, handle complex investigations, and assist smaller departments with major cases. The Emergency Services Unit (ESU) will include major case investigators, cell phone analyzers and a crisis intervention team to respond to incidents involving individuals with mental health issues and emergency responders trained in responding to high-risk incidents including those involving barricaded gunmen and active shooters. The ESU will be designed to protect the public from violent incidents and to investigate and prosecute criminal offenders.

"Our law enforcement officers and emergency first responders take tremendous risks in the line of duty day in and day out, and it’s vital we provide the resources they need to keep our communities safe," said Rep. Cartwright, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee, where he oversees more than $70 billion in annual federal spending.  “As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will continue to support police and all first responders by providing them what they need when it comes to protecting our community.”

Rep. Cartwright also secured additional FY2022 and FY2023 Community Project Funding for law enforcement across the 8^th District including:

-      The Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office County Gun and Gang Reduction and Intelligence Project, $2 million

-      City of Wilkes-Barre, Community Policing Technology and Equipment Initiative, $2.1 million

-      New Moosic Fire & Police Facility, $4 million

-      Archbald Borough for a multi-jurisdictional, Fire and Police Emergency Operations Center, $3 million

-      Monroe County shared West End Emergency Services facility, $1 million

“Bringing our fair share of federal tax dollars back to our region is the main reason I ran for Congress,” Rep. Cartwright added. “This funding directly responds to some of the most pressing needs in Northeastern Pennsylvania by creating good-paying jobs, making us safer, and strengthening our communities.”