Funding Police Interview Room Recording Equipment

One of the biggest roadblocks we find for agencies wanting to upgrade interview room equipment is funding. Often recording equipment just doesn’t make it into the budget so many are turning to grant writing. While this can take special expertise, at least one agency, City of Wayne MI, recently purchased CaseCracker through funding received from JAG (The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants Program). This is a federally funded program that is authorized to spend up to $1.095 billion per year and allows any State Administering Agency (SAA) to guide the use of grant funds and pass them through to local government law enforcement agencies. State applications are due by June 30^th each year.

This is what Chief Alan Maciag had to say about the process to purchase CaseCracker:

“The City of Wayne Police Department purchased the Case Cracker system with funds from the 2014 Justice Assistance Grant (JAG Grant). The City of Wayne was awarded the grant because it met the grant requirements. The Wayne County Department of Homeland Security was the applicant for the grant.

The Case Cracker System has set itself above the rest by offering a cost-effective, easy to use system that meets the requirements set forth by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards for the recording of custodial interrogations. Our detectives are extremely pleased with the system and have commented on its quality and ease of use. I am confident that I made the right choice when selecting this system for the Wayne Police Department.”

Please visit the following websites for more information:

http://www.ncjp.org/byrne_jag (for overview of JAG)

www.bja.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?Program_ID=59 (for application process)