Sault Ste. Marie Police Service has received more than $2 million in grant money from the province to sustain its community safety programming and install automated licence plate readers locally.
According to the Ministry of the Solicitor General, a total of $2,070,000 has been allotted to the police services board for the Community Mobilization Unit, which includes the Community Crisis Response Team (CCRT), Community Safety Officers (CSO) and Community Oriented Response and Enforcement (CORE).
The Community Mobilization Unit works in partnership with the community and other services to address the root causes of crime, share information, and to reduce victimization and build community capacity through early intervention.
Another $28,797 in CCTV grant money from the province will enable Sault Ste. Marie Police Service to install an automated license plate recognition system at key points on the region’s highways that will allow for the monitoring of gang activity.
"The information gathered will provide the police with the knowledge of gang member activities in Sault Ste. Marie as well as their continued travel, both north and east, assisting other police agencies across the province," reads a description of the project found on a government website.
The grant money allocated to Sault Ste. Marie Police Service is part of the Community Safety and Policing Grant (CSP) program, a three-year, $195-million funding mechanism initiated in 2019 in order to address widespread community safety concerns across the province.