State Reduces Anti-Crime Grants to Counties by 10%. PJ.com

State grants used to fight crime in the mid-Hudson Valley will decrease sharply in the coming year, according to Gov. David Paterson.

On Tuesday, Paterson said Operation IMPACT grants totaling $13.5 million will be awarded, down more than 10 percent from about $15.1 million last year.

Officials called the decrease a reflection of the state’s fiscal crisis. The grants go to upstate and Long Island counties.

Dutchess County will receive $377,724, down from $407,130. Ulster County is slated to get $275,331, down from $314,119.

Officials said the grants support strategic crime-fighting and violence-reducing initiatives by providing money for crime analysts, prosecutors, surveillance cameras, undercover details and warrant sweeps.

“Operation IMPACT is a crucial program that has made our communities safer,” Paterson said in a release. “Public safety and economic revitalization go hand-in-hand. We must, as a state, do our part to assist our local law enforcement partners in ensuring that our communities are safe places to live, work and raise our families.”

City of Poughkeepsie police Chief Ronald Knapp said IMPACT funds are key to fighting violent crime.

“Every month, the Dutchess County IMPACT team meets and discusses operations, strategies and other issues,” Knapp said in a statement from Paterson’s office. “Our field intelligence officers meet on a weekly basis to share case info and crime information. I cannot imagine what we would be facing without the support and funding of this vital New York state initiative. This aid is especially critical in these tough economic times, when we are all struggling with tight budgets.”

Officials said grants were awarded competitively, with priority given to areas with the highest volume of crime.

In the City of Newburgh, acting police Chief Michael Ferrara said Operation IMPACT has “allowed the department to move past simply reacting to crime, and to move towards proactive enforcement efforts, field intelligence and crime analysis — all of which are critical to maintaining public safety and reducing crime.”