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Prosecutor asks council to appropriate roughly $65,000 in federal equitable-sharing funds for law enforcement grants
Summary
Chief deputy prosecutor requested the council budget approximately $65,000 received through federal forfeiture equitable-sharing to be placed into the prosecutor’s law enforcement grants line for local projects, including Cellebrite and THPD vehicle equipment.
Rob Roberts, chief deputy prosecutor, asked the council on April 1 to appropriate roughly $65,000 received through the federal equitable-sharing (forfeiture) process into the prosecutor's law enforcement grants line.
Roberts said the funds are returned to participating agencies after federal forfeiture proceedings and that the $65,000 figure in the request is “the exact dollar amount to the penny” available in that fund. He said the prosecutor's office uses that line for projects that benefit local law enforcement and described two projects outlined in his letter, including equipment for the Terre Haute Police Department and Cellebrite cell-phone equipment.
Council members asked about the scope of Cellebrite use and whether the tool would assist county agencies. Roberts said the high-tech crime unit funded through the prosecutor’s office serves Vigo County and seven other counties and that the tool would assist urgent investigations when the Terre Haute Police Department could support downloads for local agencies.
No formal appropriation vote was recorded at the meeting; Roberts said the funds are typically appropriated when allocations are received and that the office budgets conservatively against other revenue lines to preserve reserves for unexpected needs.
