Rockville Centre PD Gets $1M In Federal Grant Funds Per Wednesday Announcement

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY. — U.S. Representative announced $1,031,000 in federal funding to be delivered to the Rockville Centre Police Department Wednesday, marking a second local police visit in just a couple of weeks for the congresswoman in New York’s 4th district.

The funds were delivered through the federal appropriations process, Gillen’s office said, with the money going toward the purchase of high definition video cameras that the police department will be able to place throughout the village.

“My office is proud to have secured over a million dollars for the Rockville Centre Village Police Department from our COPS Tech Grant funding money,” Gillen said Wednesday. “This will help ensure that this police department remains a modern, up-to-date, state-of-the-art police force.”

The cameras, Gillen said, would help law enforcement officers watch streets, public parks and neighborhoods by allowing them to gather HD digital video footage of areas throughout the village.

Rockville Centre Police Department Commissioner Randy Dodd said the cameras would be placed “strategically throughout the business district” in Rockville Centre, with the department using crime data, traffic flow and officer experience as the data to determine where the cameras go.

“It will help protect our families, it will help enhance public safety, and it will help ensure that Rockville Centre’s thriving downtown continues to succeed and attract investment from businesses who want to participate in the robust economy of this village," Gillen said of the cameras.

For Dodd, the allocation of funds represented, “a real commitment to protecting our community.”

“Visibility is one of the strongest preventions in crime. Cameras change behavior. They discourage criminal activity before it begins. When criminals know they're being watched, crime goes down,” Dodd said. “These cutting-edge cameras are not just technology. They’re powerful tools to let everyone know that if you’re thinking about committing a crime in Rockville Centre, we’re protected and we’re paying attention.”

While Rockville Centre Mayor Francis Murray called Rockville "the safest community in New York State of 25,000 people or less" Wednesday, Gillen said the newly allocated funds for police cameras can still make a difference, even in a community that's already safe.

“Our law enforcement knows that crimes don’t stop at the line of one community to the other,” Gillen said. “That is why these cameras are so important. Incidents don’t happen here often, but if they do happen, we will have the footage and the means to get the answers of who perpetrated these crimes.