BELCHERTOWN — The town landed a $15,000 grant from the state’s Community Compact program to help the police department upgrade its record-keeping security software.
“This will go a long way in improving our network security and bring it up to the best standards available,” Police Chief Christopher Pronovost said.
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito visited the police department April 24 to sign the grant award and welcome Belchertown to the Community Compact program.
The Community Compact program awards grants of up to $200,000 to municipalities for one-time technology infrastructure upgrades. The grants can also pay for design, installation, implementation and initial training.
Police said state officials are excited for the new partnership between Belchertown and the Community Compact Program.
“We look forward to working with town officials to help make enhancements to Belchertown’s technology security by strengthening firewalls, improving network connectivity and securing the town’s data center,” the lieutenant governor said in a statement.
The Community Compact claims that technological upgrades will make government more efficient, save taxpayer money, and make it easier for residents to interact with their local government.
The upgrades will help the department meet security standards required by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission. Police departments in Northampton, Amherst and at the five colleges have already achieved the accreditation.
“The accreditation process is a review by peers that everything you’re doing in your department is following best practices,” Pronovost said.
With recent updates to the department’s policies and procedures, and now a new security software, the chief says it is close to receiving the accreditation.
Sarah Robertson can be reached at srobertson@gazettenet.com.
