Washington County Sheriff’s Office receives $963K grant

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office recently received a $963,000 grant, the county announced.

The funds will be used to purchase two airboats and a digital evidence management system.

According to the county, the money comes from the Department of Justice through a grant program sponsored by Congresswoman Betty McCollum. The Washington County Board of Commissioners accepted the grant on Tuesday.

The airboats would give the Sheriff’s Office a secure and stable way to navigate a variety of waterways during rescues.

Additionally, the county says most criminal investigations deal with some form of digital evidence, and the current management process the Sheriff’s Office uses is limited by space, functionality and performance constraints. With a digital evidence management system, all municipal public safety agencies in Washington County could efficiently store, analyze and share digital evidence.