Grant funding for targeting drug trafficking includes local law enforcement

Area law enforcement was included in the latest round of federal funding aimed at fighting drug crimes in the commonwealth.

Governor Andy Beshear on Thursday announced more than $1.4 million had been awarded through the Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program. The program allows “Kentucky’s law enforcement agencies, drug task forces, and nonprofit organizations to purchase critical resources, provide drug prevention programming to community residents, offer counseling to crime victims, ensure officers receive specialized training, and work with individuals leaving incarceration for successful reentry skills.”

“Each of these organizations is receiving over $100,000,” said Governor Beshear during Thursday’s Team Kentucky Update. “Thank you to these groups for all they’re doing. With three straight years of declines in overdose deaths, we can finally see real hope, especially after last year where we saw a 30 percent decline. We’re still losing too many people. Each one, a child of God, loved by their family and their friends. Let’s keep working until we end this epidemic that arose in our lifetime, and I think we have an obligation not to leave it to our kids or to our grandkids.”

Included in the latest funding recipients are the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force, which received $196,307, and the Kentucky State Police, which received $333,595.

Learn more about the grant program on the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet’s website.