WASHINGTON –
U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and
Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-MD) announced today that Garrett County has been awarded a $20,340 USDA Rural Development grant to purchase and equip a mobile crime scene processing 4-wheel drive vehicle.

Currently, the Garrett County Sheriff’s Department depends on the Maryland State Police and the Mobile Crime Lab Unit for in-depth processing of crime scenes. The new mobile crime lab will reduce travel time and result in a faster lab analysis of crime scenes.
 
 

“In providing the Garrett County Sheriff’s Department with a state-of-the-art mobile lab, we are reaffirming our commitment to reduce crime and to assist law enforcement in carrying out their duty,”
said Senator Cardin. “I am confident that this mobile lab will result in faster analysis of crimes scenes and in quicker arrests.”

“As the pressures on our state and local law enforcement agencies increase, we must do what we can to give our officers the resources they need,”
said Senator Mikulski. “This funding will give the Garrett County Sheriff’s Department another tool to solve crimes and protect our communities.  I will keep fighting to fund federal grant programs like this that make Maryland’s streets safer.”

The Rural Development grant program was created to improve the economy and quality of life in rural America.
  The program helps support essential services and infrastructure improvements, and promotes economic development by supporting loans to businesses through banks and community-managed lending pools.