Braindead Island elites score again

Police Boat Gets High-Tech Upgrade Even As Force May be Downsized ($190,000)
The tranquil hamlet of Bainbridge Island, Washington, received $190,000 to upgrade a patrol boat for which it has little need—while it considers downsizing its police force.
Several years ago, CNN named Bainbridge Island, outside Seattle, as its number two best place to live in America, noting the island's vacation-like feel, low population (just over 20,000) and low crime rate.43 After years of decreasing crime, the city turned to the police force as a source of budget cuts in 2009, trimming it to a force of 20.44 At the same time it was considering cutting police, the Bainbridge Police Department was awarded a $190,000 stimulus grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to upgrade its boat.45 Funds will be used for technology upgrades advanced enough to allow the boat to ―test vapor or surfaces for microscopic traces of explosive material.‖46
This is not the first time the Bainbridge Island police force has received a federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security for advanced technology. In 2007, a $646,000 grant helped Bainbridge Island purchase a Safe Boat, normally reserved for the Coast Guard, to patrol the island.47 Bainbridge Island officials were at first puzzled, citing little need for such an advanced boat at the small locality, though it ultimately accepted the funds.48 ―There is not another patrol boat like this anywhere in the region,‖ police Chief Mark Duncan said at the time.49 Noting the unusual nature of the situation, former Bainbridge police chief, Matt Haney, whose force was too small to effectively maintain and operate the boat, ―We got a nice boat through a grant. But we don't have the personnel to run it.‖50 A 2005 federal grant also provided Bainbridge Island with $637,000 for video surveillance and fencing.