METRO Police to Get Federal Money
Tuesday, August 04, 2009 5:25 PM
The METRO Police Department will be hiring eight officers and buying two - two four-legged officers, that is - thanks to federal stimulus funds it was awarded last week.
MPD was one of 15 transit agencies nationwide selected to receive money from a $78 million pot. The funding is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP). The 15 agencies will hire about 240 law enforcement officers to help the nation guard against acts of terrorism.
"This Recovery Act money will create critical law enforcement jobs that will help our nation prevent terrorist attacks," said Janet Napolitano, Department of Homeland Security secretary, in a statement
METRO will receive $3 million to hire additional officers, beefing up the current force of 185 officers and eight K-9 officers.
"Any additional resources will help us to make the system safer," said METRO's Assistant Chief of Police Tim Kelly. "Police officers are the backbone of what we do. This money will help us get more officers on the force to help with our day-to-day operations, such as conducting random patrols which help deter terrorism and reduce crime."
The two police dogs will be trained to detect explosives. Currently, METRO's K-9 force includes five dogs trained to detect explosives and three dogs trained to track narcotics. 
"I love it - I'm totally excited about expanding the force. I love training dogs," said John Ivey, MPD's canine trainer. "It will definitely be beneficial to METRO to have seven explosive dogs. They're effective because they can help pinpoint the area for bomb technicians and eliminate the concern if there's a device or suspicious package. We run the dog first to see if we get any response and then the bomb technicians come in and disarm it."
The New York Metropolitan Transit Agency received about $35 million for 25 new officers, making it the largest award among the 15 agencies. Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) was the only other Texas transit agency to get some of this funding - $1.4 million.
The Recovery Act was signed into law by President Obama in February, committing more than $3 billion for homeland security projects.