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Grants for Command Vehicles

By Mike Scott
Originally Published in Police Fleet Manager Magazine, May-June 2004. Reprinted with permission.

Funding tactical and communications vehicles has become even more of a chore for law enforcement agencies faced with budget cuts and shrinking budgets. As a result, everyone involved in the process of buying a command center has been forced to become more proactive – and that includes vendors.

It seems the easiest way to find money to fund these purchases is through governmental grants. Yet tracking the possible grants and filling out the necessary paperwork just to apply – without guarantee of an award – is extremely time-consuming and can be taxing on law enforcement agencies whose resources are already stretched.

Aubrey Hall, Vice President of Technical Services for Sirchie Vehicle Division, a part of Sirchie Fingerprint Labs, said the company offers such services as researching potential grants to help clients realize the funding possibilities that exist.

"The trend in the mid-1980s was that a lot of our vehicles were paid for by seizures from drug raids," Hall said. "Those raids were almost exclusively used to fund higher ticket projects but now agencies rely more on where their grant funds come from. Now it's about being funded by grants or a combination of grants and drug seizures."

Hall said grants from the U.S. Homeland Security Department are available to help fund communications and tactical command centers. Some of the grants available include the Edward Burn formula grant, a program through the Department of Justice and local law enforcement block grants.

"We actively stay on top of grant programs but really it's difficult because they are like pop-up tents," Hill said. "Some give agencies no more than 60 days to apply and get your application in."

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the federal government responded with the Homeland Security Act. This Act was the causative factor in the fastest formation of a new department of the federal government in the past 50 years: the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security now controls a vast amount of the federal grant monies made available to public safety agencies in the United States.

In 2004, there will be $1.2 billion in grant monies available to law enforcement agencies, fire departments, emergency services, and local and state governments. These monies can be used for a wide variety of applications including, but not limited to, equipment, manpower and training.

During the last several years, the federal government has changed the manner in which grants are applied for, awarded and evaluated. This system has become known as "performance grants." The intent of these grants is to eliminate wasteful spending through accountability, and to recognize those agencies that are implementing and producing the results that they stated they would achieve, if awarded funding.

Unfortunately this has created an arduous process in applying for and managing these grants, according to Kurt Bradley, public safety grant consulter for Chief Grants, a division of Chief, a Charlotte-based public safety supplies company. Chief Grants was founded March 1 as an added service to clients because of the vast need for grant writing and researching consultation, which most small to mid-sized agencies simply do not have the time to complete.

Bradley, who has a law enforcement background before joining Chief, worked at a department where officers were driving around in squad cars with 250,000 miles simply because the agency could not afford new squad cars. "One of the only ways to fund such large purchases without asking for money from the local governmental entity is through grants," Bradley said.

Deputy Chief Ed Smith of the Gloucester Township, NJ, Police agreed that grants are the most effective and readily available way to fund purchases of command centers and other law enforcement vehicles. He recommended other agencies visit the Department of Justice and state governmental Web sites for more information.

Gloucester Township recently received a Domestic Preparedness Grant that helped to fund a command center purchase. Smith said drug seizures remain another good way to fund capital purchases. The township purchased a $110,000 SWAT vehicle and 40 mobile computers for patrol cars (at $280,000) completely from drug seizure funds.

"The time and effort you spend in the grant process and researching options is well worth the reward," Smith said, who admitted the forms can be bureaucratic in nature. "Some grants are less labor intensive to apply for than others but they all have specific requirements you need to pay close attention to."

Hall said for Sirchie to remain a profitable business, it needs to spread the word to clients and potential customers about where these grants are and how to apply for them. He said that during the O.J. Simpson trial, the trend in law enforcement was for forensic evidence and collection vehicles and following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the trend was for SWAT, bomb response and command centers.

"The way the system is set up now for funding, it's almost a reactionary type policy that the federal government has imposed because it is difficult for law enforcement agencies to afford our vehicles," Hall said. "It's easy to tell where the emphasis is because that's what everyone is ordering."

Smith works with a Gloucester Township civilian employee who researches and applies for grants for the entire township, but he maintains control over those that pertain to law enforcement. He encourages law enforcement agencies to take an active role in these grant applications. "It's hard for a non-law enforcement individual to relate to law enforcement situations and the budgets we have to work with," Smith said. "But she does help me in many areas and certainly any help you can get is appreciated and helps to meet deadlines."

Bradley said grant writing should be a part of every public safety agency's overall financial plan. However, these agencies need training to better understand how to respond and reply to grants at both the local and federal levels. "Grants are like the lotto," Bradley said. "You can't win one unless you play or apply for it."

Bradley listed several common mistakes that agencies will make when applying for a firm, which will make it virtually impossible to get a much-needed grant. Be clear and concise – don't use long-winded text. Follow all instructions closely. Never miss a grant deadline because your application will be discarded immediately.

Bradley compared filling out a grant to producing a personal résumé. The more it stands out, the more likely it will receive serious consideration. Many grant applications ask for U.S. Census Bureau and local median income data and this information needs to be complete and accurate.

"You want to create a visual picture with words," Bradley said. "I tell clients you want to make them believe and make them cry. The impression you want to leave is that there will be babies lying in the street in your community if you don't get this grant money. That way when the person screening the applications is reading another one, he will still be thinking about yours."

Of course grants can be used for more than just communications vehicles and command centers. New York City's preparedness campaign was given a $200,000 grant in mid-March by the Alcoa Corporation to help fund first responder initiatives.

The Office of Emergency Management will use the money to print and distribute more copies of its Household Preparedness Guide, which lets you know what you should have on hand for an emergency. The money will also go toward preparedness ads on billboards, subways and bus shelters. "We are trying to get the guide out to all of the city's 2.9 million households, which costs a lot of money, and we don't have a lot of money, so this is helpful," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

If your agency is in a position where you need assistance or if you can resolve or support one or more vehicle or command center needs, then you have a good chance of obtaining a grant. The Department of Homeland Security offers the most extensive grants, and its Web site (www.dhs.gov) should be your first stop. Local law enforcement block grants are allocated by population and are available at the state and county level. Contact your state or local municipality for more information.

Finding a grant in general involves following four steps that will help you succeed in obtaining the assistance you need. First, develop your search criteria or reasons for looking for grant programs. Ask yourself why you're searching for a grant in the first place. What's your angle? Who will benefit? Are your needs personal, community driven, or business related? Are you eligible?

Second, match your search criteria to public grant programs. If you find that the Government will not meet your needs, research private industry grant sources.

Third, review each potential program found in the last step to determine if the program and your needs are related. This is where you'll build a grant search list of potential sponsors who can be used as long as your needs are unchanged.

Fourth, contact the agencies listed on your sponsor list to request information about current funding opportunities and application procedures.

Mike Scott has contributed to more than 70 newspapers, magazines and Web sites. He lives in Waterford, MI, and can be reached at Mascott17@aol.com. Reprinted with permission from Police Fleet Manager Magazine, Hendon Publishing Company.

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