West Point is on the receiving end of a major grant 

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- It’s a big deal for a small town. West Point is on the receiving end of a major grant.

The West Point Police Department has received a Department of Justice COPS grant.

The grants are awarded to departments to purchase equipment and upgrade technology.

West Point got the maximum amount, one million dollars.

West Point’s Mayor and Police Chief say the additional money will help the department stay ahead of criminals when it comes to technology.

One item they plan to invest in heavily is more security cameras for the city.

“This didn’t just haphazardly happen. It came as a result, we were awarded it as a result of us going to D.C., getting in front of the right people, and asking the right questions. So, it wasn’t something that just happened to be given to the City of West Point. This was something that was pursued in a strategic way,a nd we were awarded the grant.”

“I hope they take away two things. One: That we have leaders that are pushing to make our city better, for our city to be modernized. And the second thing is that we want to save the taxpayers money in any way possible and reaching out there for grants; any department, their major funding comes from grants, and they’re out there, and we can utilize them, and we can save money and modernize by using grant money, that’s what we want to do.”

The city has not released a timeline on when they will be receiving the grant money