Homeland Security grant to pay for Miss. police training

Brian Livingston
The Meridian Star

MERIDIAN, Miss. — The city of Meridian was awarded a $75,000 grant by the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security that will be used to provide training for police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel.

"These grants help us in so many ways, mainly to give our people the training they need and secondly to validate the use of the Meridian/Lauderdale County Public Safety Training Facility," said Tim Miller, chief administrative officer for the City of Meridian.

"Our people don't have to travel and miss as much time on the job and by having this awarded to the city we can cut down on our costs in sending our personnel to another city."

The majority of the training will be conducted by instructors already on staff at the training facility but Miller didn't rule out the possibility that other instructors may come in to help.

"For the overland search and rescue program we will probably need to bring in instructors from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, especially if the class is large," Miller said.

Other programs planned for the upcoming year that will be covered by the grant funding are SWAT training, incident command classes and specialized water rescue, Miller said.

"We thank the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security for their partnership that allows us to ensure our first responders have training that is timely and professional," Miller said. "This makes for a safer Meridian and Mississippi."

Copyright 2012 The Meridian Star