NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Law enforcement grants are being doled out this week to area agencies to bolster their alcohol-related programs.
READ MORE: ABC Board awards over $100,000 to local law enforcement
Four agencies asked for a combined $152,852, with $150,000 available to disperse.
The New Hanover County ABC Board launched its Law Enforcement Annual Grants last year. The grants are given out on top of the 5% of profits already allocated annually to police.
Three local police jurisdictions have benefited already: New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office and Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach police departments.
This year the same three agencies applied for additional funding, as well as the Wilmington Police Department.
At its April 20 meeting, the New Hanover County ABC Board heard presentations from four departments on requests for $150,000 total set aside within the 2023-2024 budget.
A top-ticket request this year was for e-bikes. Wrightsville Beach Police Department is asking for $28,500 to cover the purchase of two to aid in its nighttime patrolling. Remaining funds would be used to purchase associated equipment and a trailer for storage and transportation of the gear necessary to set up checking stations.
WPD applied for $49,998, some of which would fund five e-bikes to deter alcohol-related offenses downtown along the Riverwalk. According to the presentation made by police grant coordinator Sonya Stephenson and communications specialist Brandon Shope, the e-bikes can help officers traverse areas not accessible by vehicles and would increase police presence visibility.
Additional funds would go toward WPD’s newly opened Law Enforcement Museum opened May 29. WPD paid for the public education center at its headquarters on Bess Street with drug tax money, despite some public outcry.
With its requested grant funding, WPD is hoping to add three interactive kiosks at the museum covering alcohol-related educational issues, such as underage drinking and drinking and driving.
Carolina Beach Police Department is seeking $24,354 to pay for targeting impaired driving and illegal drug use through development and implementation of traffic enforcement programs — sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and community outreach.
It would also create a school-based instructional program for teens to learn about the dangers of underage drinking and alcohol abuse, as well as the risks of riding in a car with a driver under the influence.
From 2017 to 2021, there were 106 fatal car crashes in New Hanover County; 27% of those involved alcohol according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. There were 148 alcohol-related deaths in New Hanover in 2020, a rate of 62.7 residents per 100,000 residents — higher than the state average.
The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office made the largest request. Lt. Joe Jewell asked for $50,000 to purchase a new, replacement vehicle for the sheriff’s ABC unit to curb alcohol-related violations and promote safety by spending more time investigating ABC matters.
Thursday, the ABC board will announce how much money each entity will be granted (the article will be updated after the board votes on the funding allocations).
In April, the ABC board also doled out $725,000 in community outreach committee grants to nine nonprofits:
- Boys and Girls Club of Southern NC: $100,000
- The Centre of Redemption, DBA A Safe Place: $100,000
- Leading Into New Communities, Inc: $100,000
- Tide, Inc.: $90,000
- First Fruit Ministries: $85,000
- Coastal Horizons: $75,000
- The Carousel Center: $75,000
- The Healing Place of NHC: $50,000
- Peer Recovery Resources: $50,000
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