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Indiana State Police Lt. Col. Larry Turner, left, says the money will fund more personnel, more resources for dismantling meth labs and new equipment, including a sophisticated field test.
Brandon Smith/IPBSThe U.S. Department of Justice awarded nearly $1 million dollars to the Indiana State Police to fight the state’s heroin and methamphetamine problem. Indiana is one of just 11 states to receive grant funding.
The $950,000 in grant funding comes from two programs, one anti-heroin and the other anti-methamphetamine. Indiana State Police official Larry Turner says the money will fund more personnel, more resources for dismantling meth labs and new equipment, including a sophisticated field test.
“Being able to have our officers identify drugs on-scene without having to open them, touch them or expose them to reagents — color testing like we’ve normally done – this kind of sophisticated equipment will be of great advantage and will be very, very safe for our officers,” Turner says.
Department of Justice official Ronald Davis says the grant process was a very competitive one.
“I think the effort that has gone on in Indiana, the work that has been done before this grant and what they’re outlining that they’re going to do in the grant is an opportunity to uplift the kind of example that we’re looking at,” Davis says.
Indiana is one of only three states to receive money from both the anti-heroin and anti-methamphetamine programs.
Turner says the state police will use part of the anti-heroin portion of the money to help under-served areas.
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