HONESDALE-- Wayne County District Attorney A.G. Howell announced the purchase of close to $9,000.00 worth of police equipment for the Honesdale Borough Police Department over the past year.
The money came from the Wayne County Drug Forfeiture account, which is funded by money and property seized from local drug dealers were arrested by the police department during the past few years. The fund purchased a video surveillance system for the police station, three ruggedized computer tablets, a Cannon EOS camera and two digital recorders, totaling $8,816.33.
Pennsylvania Statutes provide that property used or intended to be used in violation of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act along with money that is used to purchase controlled substances or is the proceeds of the sale of controlled substances is subject to forfeiture. Once seized, property and money forfeited is transferred to the custody of the District Attorney and placed in the Drug Forfeiture account. The District Attorney may then designate that the money to be utilized by local police departments for the criminal investigations of drug offenses. hat includes the purchase of equipment which aids in the actual investigations of drug offenses.
District Attorney Howell stated “Our local law enforcement agencies need the necessary modern tools to fight crime and improve the effectiveness of our police. These expenditures reinforce the commitment by the DA’s office and law enforcement to protect our community whenever and however possible.”