FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has received nearly $5.8 million in state grant funding to upgrade its emergency communications and public safety technology.
The funding was awarded through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The agency said Flagler County property taxpayers will not pay for the new equipment and upgrades.
More than half of the money will replace the agency’s portable radios with models that can communicate using traditional radio frequencies, cellular networks and satellites.
The multiple connection options are designed to keep deputies in contact during hurricanes, emergencies in remote areas and other incidents in which one network may become unavailable.
The grant will also pay for Axon AI Assistant licenses for the agency’s existing body cameras. The technology provides hands-free translation in more than 50 languages, helping deputies communicate with people during traffic stops and other calls.
The sheriff’s office helicopter will receive a thermal imaging system, aviation spotlight and night-vision equipment. The upgrades will help deputies locate missing people, search waterways and wooded areas and track fleeing suspects.
The remaining funding will replace aging patrol laptops, strengthen the agency’s Real Time Crime Center and provide deputies with automated CPR devices and defibrillators.
“Every dollar of this grant is a dollar we didn’t have to ask Flagler County taxpayers for,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “This funding puts the best available technology in the hands of our deputies.”
The sheriff’s office said it has received more than $12 million in grant funding since Staly became sheriff.
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