Virginia will use almost $9.3 million in new federal homeland security funds to guard against improvised bombs and expand an information system for law enforcement officers.
The law enforcement initiatives account for the biggest share of $23.4 million in federal homeland security grants that Virginia is distributing this year for regional and local programs.
The state also is using new federal aid to prepare shelters designated for mass evacuation and better equip localities to respond to incidents potentially involving "weapons of mass destruction," such as biological, chemical, radiological or nuclear hazards. The spending plans, announced today by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, include:
Almost $9.3 million to expand the Law Information Information Exchange to 80 percent of the state, and to equip and train regional bomb squads to respond to improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. The exchange allows law officers to share regional crime data and counter-terrorism tools;
$1.7 million to buy new equipment for state and local agencies to respond to incidents involving hazardous materials, as well as special equipment in case of a building collapse;
About $2.3 million to plan and equip a statewide shelter system with wiring for backup generators, access for people with disabilities, software for tracking and reuniting families in a disaster, and stocking shelters with emergency supplies;
About $1.6 million for local programs to train citizens to participate in emergency response;
About 1.9 million to pay for disaster training and exercises;
About $1.4 million for emergency medical services to development an emergency patient registry;
About $1.9 million to bolster metropolitan area medical response in a disaster;
$1.4 million to further improve the compatibility of communication systems so that police, fire and emergency workers from different jurisdictions can talk to one another in an emergency;
$1.5 million for initiatives to protect "critical infrastructure," such as roads and public utility systems; and
$400,000 to help local emergency managers assess their capabilities to expand to a disaster.
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