Sheriff's department receives grant

YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning County Sheriff's Department has been selected to receive a $35,802 federal grant to update its fingerprinting equipment.
The sheriff's department is one of 50 law enforcement agencies in Ohio to receive part of the $2 million that Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro and officials of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation are dispersing to upgrade fingerprinting equipment.
The grant pays for upgrades, installation, and three years of technical support, he said.
Petro is seeking additional funding to equip 40 additional law enforcement agencies with new fingerprinting units. He said the latest identification equipment allows law enforcement officers to electronically capture the fingerprints and palm prints of criminal suspects upon arrest.
Electronic identification equipment will greatly reduce the resources expended on fingerprint processing by local agencies and BCI, the attorney general said.