September 30, 2005 Update

Troy Pistol Team Three-Peats as State Champion at Jackson Michigan
The Troy Police Departments eight member Pistol Team finished first in the Class A category at the 68th Annual Michigan Police Shoot in Jackson, Michigan on September 8th. This is the third year in a row the team took the First Place Governors Trophy in the Class A Division. The teams are matched according to the manpower of the competing departments. Troy competed against Kent County, Battle Creek, and Ann Arbor. Troys team consists of: Officers Russ Bragg, Milt Stansbury, Craig Fitzpatrick, Frank Nastasi, Joseph Haddad, Tony Cascioli, Pat McWilliams, and Robert Wolfe. The City of Troy Police Department is proud of the hard work, skill, and personal dedication the members of the team consistently display in this annual competition. The Department is pleased to maintain possession of this prestigious trophy for the third year in a row. A team photo with the trophy is available via E-mail upon request.

Three Recent Grants Add Resources to Public Safety and Prevention Efforts in Troy

The citizens of Troy will benefit from three significant grant awards recently announced from Washington, D.C.

The Troy Community Coalition applied for two grants that will be used in their continuing efforts related to drug, alcohol, and tobacco use and abuse prevention and education programs in the city. The first grant is a $100,000.00 award under the Drug Free Communities Support Program. This is the 6th year in a row the Coalition has been awarded this grant. The Drug Free Communities Support Program Grant is a ten-year funding cycle program, for which grant awardees must re-apply each year of the cycle. An organization fortunate enough to qualify is automatically eligible to apply the following year. There is no guarantee that a successful applicant will be awarded the grant upon reapplication. Awards are based on demonstrated effective, efficient, and innovative management of the funds in the arena of prevention and intervention. This grant will be used to maintain both staff and programs, as well as develop new initiatives dedicated to the prevention and reduction of drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse among youth. This award represents a significant portion of the operating budget for Troys Coalition. The second grant awarded to the Troy Community Coalition is a $75,000.00 Mentoring Grant. This award is for the first year of a two-year funding cycle. These funds were awarded to the Troy Coalition to allow it to act as a mentor to the Southeast Oakland Coalition and the Greater West Bloomfield Coalition in their efforts to grow, strengthen, and develop their coalitions and programs. This award underscores not only the Troy Coalitions reputation for excellence in the prevention field, but also its efficiency and effectiveness in the coalition approach to solving community problems. Coalitions are grass-roots community efforts to address, solve, and prevent problems comprised of citizens, community leaders, parents, youth, schools, health care, law enforcement, the courts, religious and fraternal organizations, business professionals, and the media. The City of Troy Police Department is proud to be a participating partner with the Troy Coalition and looks forward to continued work toward our mutual goal of contributing to a healthy community. For additional information, Executive Director of the Troy Community Coalition, Ms. Ann Comiskey, may be contacted at 248-823-5088

The City of Troy Police Department recently received news of a $20,000.00 matching grant award under the Secure Our Schools Initiative, which is a program of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Service. (COPS) Award recipients are required to match the grant amount. Troy will utilize the monies to purchase Vehicular Tactical Units, which are communications enhancement devices. One device will be installed in each of the Departments Road Patrol Command Cars. These cars are currently equipped to function, among other things, as command and coordination posts at critical incidents, including incidents that might occur at school buildings. The devices serve to enhance communications capabilities between commanders and officers responding to incidents in large buildings, such as schools; locations that because of distance and material barriers can have negative impacts on communications effectiveness. Communications effectiveness remains an essential factor in emergency management and response. These devices will be a positive addition to the Departments already effective critical incident response capabilities.

In a challenging budget environment, where many grant programs have vanished due to cuts in funding, and applications to existing programs are intensely competitive, these awards represent very positive news in terms of resources for this community. The grant awards reinforce the dedication of those engaged in this work, and underscore why Troy remains an attractive and vibrant place to live, work, go to school, and conduct business. It is the hope of the Troy Police Department, and our partners at the Troy Community Coalition, that we will continue to deliver quality service and programs to our citizens, such that all of our work will remain a positive example and have a lasting effect into the future.