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MURFREESBORO – The Murfreesboro Police Department is upgrading some of their equipment thanks to a state grant award.

MPD Chief David Griffith said he applied for a grant from the Governor’s Crime Commission last year, and was recently notified that the department will receive $20,500 for Criminal Justice Systems Improvement.

Those funds will be used to purchase new portable radios for the officers and a new system to outfit the department’s interview room. Griffith explained that their current radios were nearing their end-of-life after several years of use, and the interview room hasn’t been updated in the last 15 years.

“I try to apply for these grants at least yearly or every two years,” Griffith explained. “For a small department, we rely on these grants for essential equipment.”

The grant, Griffith said, helps take the burden off of local taxpayers, but also ensures that the department is able to make upgrades to equipment when necessary.

In the past, the department has been able to purchase a variety of equipment including bulletproof vests, uniforms, ballistic shields, a ram, ear pieces to connect to radios, and more. The last time Murfreesboro’s department received this grant was in 2019.

The Governor’s Crime Commission is part of North Carolina’s Department of Public Safety, and uses state and federal funds to distribute grants each year to local law enforcement, government bodies, and related non-profit agencies.