ST. CLOUD -- The Stearns County Sheriff's Office and the St. Cloud Police Department have applied for nearly $29,000 to share between the departments.

The money would come from the Department of Justice through the Justice Assistance Grant.

Stearns County Chief Deputy Sheriff Bruce Bechtold says the money would be used to upgrade some technology.

"At this point we need to upgrade and renew our interview room systems for video and audio recording, so we will combined this grant with a grant from last year to complete the project," says Bechtold.

The St. Cloud Police department plans to use their share of the grant to purchase a computerized fingerprint collection system and crime prevention educational materials.

Bechtold says they have been receiving the grant for the last 12 years which helps them plan their budget for the coming year.

"We look through what we need to upgrade and try to figure out what would be the best fit to use the grant money for," says Bechtold.

He says the money helps each department continue to provide quality service for the resident of St. Cloud and Stearns County.

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