Little Rock plans to use more than $1.2 million in grant funding to expand its gun crimes, victims' advocacy and domestic violence units, the city announced Monday.
Money from the grants will allow the Little Rock Police Department to implement an in-house ballistics information system, add six new victim services specialists and hire a detective who will focus specifically on domestic violence.
All three grants are funded by the U.S. Department of Justice and are for one year.
The Local Law Enforcement Crime Gun Intelligence Center Integration Initiative grant is for $750,000 and is from the Justice Department. The Victims of Crime Assistance grant is for $427,051 and comes from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, and the STOP [Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors] Violence Against Women grant is for $93,692 and comes from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.
Capt. Ken Temple, who leads the Little Rock Police Department's special investigations division, announced plans in July for the department to establish its own ballistics testing unit.
The specialized computer system is connected to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives database that police use to connect bullets gathered from crime scenes to firearms. The system can help determine whether the weapon also was used in other crimes, generating leads for investigations.
Temple said Monday that the department hopes to have the system up and running in February or March, and that it will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so police will be able to work toward solving violent crimes more quickly.
The Victims of Crime Assistance grant will allow the city to "provide a lot of different resources for our growing community," Police Chief Keith Humphrey said Monday at a news conference at City Hall.
The department will use the funds to hire five new victim services specialists -- one who speaks Spanish, one who focuses on senior citizens and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community, one who focuses on domestic violence and two general services specialists.
The funding also will provide for a volunteer coordinator and for victim assistance that includes bus passes, relocation assistance, childcare and basic needs.
Humphrey said the goal is to make victims "stronger than ever" and to show Little Rock's inclusivity.
"We refuse to let anyone believe that they are not part of our community," the chief said.
Humphrey added the addition of a detective who focuses on domestic violence will take the department "to the next level."
Mayor Frank Scott Jr. thanked the city's state and federal partners, which include U.S. Sen John Boozman, R-Ark., and Cody Hiland, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Scott said he visited Washington, D.C., last week on a federal relations trip in order to meet with Justice Department officials to shepherd the city's funding request through and "encourage more dollars that we hopefully have coming down the road."
Metro on 09/17/2019