Silver Lake receives over $50,000 from the state to fight crime

The Silver Lake Police Department is among 21 law enforcement agencies that will receive grant funds as part of Governor Mike DeWine’s Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program to help combat violence in their communities.

The Silver Lake PD will receive $53,935.24.

The grants will pay for retention and/or hiring bonuses to help maintain current law enforcement staffing levels, recruit new officers, and continue ongoing public safety services to prevent and investigate violent crime.

The total grant money being awarded through the program is $8.5 million. The program is funded through both the state operating budget and with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

This is the seventh round of recipients to receive the grant funds.

“Many law enforcement agencies across Ohio are facing an increase in resignations and a decrease in new applicants to fill those vacant positions, which has a direct impact on the safety of their communities,” DeWine said in a statement. “I am committed to supporting agencies that need help filling their ranks so that they can effectively protect their citizens and themselves.”

Since the launch of the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program in April, DeWine has awarded $37.2 million to 119 Ohio law enforcement agencies to help them prevent and investigate violent crime through new and enhanced anti-violence programs and improved staffing levels. DeWine will award approximately $100 million to local law enforcement agencies in total.

The program is administered by the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services within the Ohio Department of Public Safety.