Gov. Kathy Hochul is awarding more than $2 million to six local police departments in the Town of North Hempstead and another nearly $3.2 million to Nassau County law enforcement agencies.
“Public safety is my top priority, and we are continuing to make record investments in law enforcement so they have the resources they need to protect our communities,” Hochul said in a statement. “By investing in the latest technology and equipment, we’re responding to the requests of law enforcement agencies as they look to safeguard the future of our state.”
The governor is awarding $127 million in total to various law enforcement agencies throughout Long Island.
These funds are intended to aid in purchasing new technology and equipment to prevent and solve crimes, modernize departments and bolster public safety.
The local agencies granted money include the police departments of Old Westbury, Garden City, Kings Point, Lake Success, Floral Park and Great Neck Estates.
The Old Westbury Police Department is slated to receive the most amount of funds from the governor in the Town of North Hempstead, established at $704,000.
“We’re thrilled to get that kind of money,” Old Westbury Chief of Police Stuart Cameron said. “There’s always technology that we want to add to the Police Department, but if we can do it at no cost to the village residents, that’s even better.”
Cameron said Old Westbury will be using the funds to purchase body cameras, additions to the department’s fixed license plate reader network and in-car videos that also work as mobile license plate readers for police vehicles.
Cameron said the Old Westbury Police Department has been effective in decreasing crime over the past year since he joined in January 2023, including what he described as substantial cuts to residential burglaries and car thefts.
What aided in these crime reductions was the Old Westbury Police Department’s use of technology, Cameron said, and the funds from the governor will aid these efforts even more.
The second highest funding is being granted to the Village of Garden City Police Department at $465,000, with the Village of Kings Point Police Department next withU an allotment of $455,000.
The other police departments being awarded in North Hempstead include Lake Success with $297,324, Floral Park with $203,900 and Great Neck Estates with $120,000.
The governor is also granting $2,084,882 to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department and $1,089,500 to the Nassau County Police Department.
The law enforcement agencies were selected from 378 agencies that applied for the funds last fall. These subsequent funds were established within the 2025 state budget.
A total of 18 Nassau County agencies and 21 Suffolk County agencies were awarded funds by the governor.
As of May 13, Nassau County law enforcement agencies in total are receiving $8,804,373.
Examples of technology these funds can go toward include license plate readers, mobile and fixed camera systems, computer-aided dispatch systems, software, unmanned aerial vehicles, gunshot detection devices, and smart equipment for patrol vehicles and police officers.
According to the governor’s office, more than half of the total funds will be used for license plate readers on the island. Another 20% will go toward patrol vehicle equipment and 17% will be fore public safety camera systems.