BY STACIE LETT CAIN

The Statesville Police Department was recently awarded a grant that will help fund the salaries of two additional patrol officers and cover the purchase of two new patrol vehicles. The grant, awarded by the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program, provides $217,682 in funding and requires no matching funds from the city for the first year.

“The funding allows us to increase staffing on patrol without transferring the entire cost directly to the City of Statesville,” explained SPD Chief David Addison. “It will be a graduated cost, saving the city of $217,000 the first year alone.”

The police department, which has 46 officers assigned to uniformed patrol, responds to 9-1-1 calls for service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The department responded to approximately 61,000 calls in 2019.

The number of calls per officer has increased by 9 percent over 2018. Patrol staffing levels are similar to the 1980s. These additional officers will be assigned to the traffic unit and will address DWIs and speeding, and will respond to fatal accidents and other traffic related instances.

The SPD is eligible to receive the grant for three additional years for salary and travel funding in support of the two additional positions at 80 percent funding for the second year with the city responsible for matching funds in the amount $25,469. For the third year the grant would cover 75 percent with the city paying $32,781, while in the fourth year the grant would cover 50 percent, leaving the city to pay $67,506.

The total amount of the grant over four years would be $485,408 with a total city expenditure of $125,756 over the same period.