PURCELLVILLE, Va. January 9, 2019 — The Town of Purcellville was recently notified by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services that the Purcellville Police Department’s Byrne Justice Assistance Grant application requesting $30,300 to purchase ten Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) has been awarded. The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) are awarded on a competitive basis to facilitate the prevention and control of crime, and improve law enforcement functionality.
“We feel very fortunate to have received this grant. For a smaller police department, like ourselves, a grant of this size will make a tremendous impact to improve the efficiency of the Department. Obtaining new MDTs is critical to our operation, as several of our MDTs are well beyond the life span of the technology.” said Chief Cynthia McAlister.
The Purcellville Police Department will utilize the JAG funds to purchase the ten new Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs), which are ruggedized notebook computers used in patrol vehicles to facilitate field reporting. The MDTs allow officers to generate and file incident, accident, and other reports directly from their patrol vehicles through the use of a secure, remote computer interface system. The process permits officers to reduce the time spent in the station writing and filing paperwork, while maximizing their time on patrol in the field. The ten units purchased will be used to replace five aging and outdated current MDTs, and add an additional five computers to help reach the Department’s goal of each officer having their assigned MDT.
