Fairfax to use $10M for homeland security

Washington DC (Map, News) - Fairfax County will use $10 million in federal homeland security funds to bolster police, emergency management, fire and rescue, and other services in the hopes of shoring up the region for a potential terrorist attack.

About $4.9 million of the money, allocated through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Urban Area Security Initiative, will go toward aiding law-enforcement projects, according to information provided by the county.

About four-fifths of that money is being used to pay for 50 new fingerprint- and face scanners that will allow officers to more easily identify someone with a criminal background, said Fairfax County Police Department spokesman Dan Courtney; police rolled out the devices this week.

The county is coordinating the use of the funds with jurisdictions across Northern Virginia. The funds can be used for planning, equipment, training and emergency exercises, all aimed at helping prevent, respond to and recover from a large-scale terrorist attack. A full list of the specific projects was not available Friday.

"I think any homeland security money is needed badly," said Fairfax County Supervisor Elaine McConnell, who represents the Springfield District. "I don't care what they say, we are a target area and we need to do as many things we can to preserve the safety of these people."

The Fairfax County Office of Public Affairs will administer $1.5 million of the grant money, according to county data.

About $1.6 million will go toward the Department of Information Technology, and the Office of Emergency Management will take about $1.8 million. The Fire and Rescue Department will accept $670,000.

wflook@dcexaminer.com

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