The Porter Police Department is one of seven law enforcement agencies in Northwest Indiana to receive an earmark secured by U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-1st, after the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies approved a total of $1,925,000 for crime-fighting in the region.

The PPD is slated to receive $68,000 to establish a common “backbone” network consisting of dispatch 800Mhz equipment and radios which officers can use to communicate with the dispatch center and each other while allowing interoperability between other jurisdictions, according to a statement released on Thursday by Visclosky’s office. “The new system will be modern and reliable and is designed to grow with the department.”

“This funding will help us communicate better with other agencies, especially the State Police,” Porter Police Chief James Spanier said. “It will be very good for officer safety.”

“Each day Northwest Indiana’s law enforcement officers take to the streets to keep our communities safe,” Visclosky said. “I have the utmost respect for their dedication and bravery and am proud to provide them with these critical resources that will help them do an even better job of protecting us. My objective is to do everything I can to ensure that they have the best equipment and the most modern technology as they do their jobs.”

Other earmarks:

*$500,000 for the Lake County Sheriff’s Police for the consolidation of dispatch centers.

*$500,000 for the Merrillville Police Department for communications upgrades.

*$485,000 for the Highland Police Department for the emergency preemptive devices on all traffic signals in the town.

*$190,000 for the Hebron Police Department for communications upgrades.

*$92,000 for the Gary Police Department for a GPS automatic vehicle location system.

*$90,000 for the Hobart Police Department for in-squad computer upgrades.

In addition, the spending bill contains $25 million for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership, which Visclosky created in 1998.

The Fiscal Year 2010 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill must be approved by the House Appropriations Committee and both the House and the Senate before it can be signed into law by the President.