Ulster County Sheriff's Office gets $794K federal grant for 911 upgrades, license plate readers, and drug ID tech
Ulster County Sheriff's Office gets $794K federal grant for 911 upgrades, license plate readers, and drug ID tech
By June Mercer
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on October 9, 2026, that the Ulster County Sheriff's Office will receive $794,000 in federal funding to modernize law enforcement technology across the county, from emergency communications to field forensics.
The money comes through the Byrne Discretionary Community Project Grants program. Awards were made September 30, 2026, and announced jointly by First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III, Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa, and Clinton County Sheriff David Favro. The funds target the Sheriff's Office "policing equipment and technology upgrades project," with planned procurement spanning several overlapping public safety functions.
What the money will buy
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York press release, the grant will fund procurements across five areas: emergency communications, investigations, corrections, crisis response, and field operations.
Specific items identified in the announcement include next generation 911 and phone system capabilities, a crisis intervention and overdose data platform, mobile device forensic technology, a handheld Raman-based drug identification device, camera and automated license plate reader infrastructure, and an AI-supported report drafting system.
The expected results, per the announcement, are safer drug identification, stronger crisis follow-up, better correctional awareness, and more coordinated countywide public safety operations.
What officials said
Sheriff Figueroa connected the grant to the county's ongoing collaboration with federal prosecutors. He said that the historical prosecutions between the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (U.R.G.E.N.T.) and the federal government have made Ulster County a safer place, and that the new funding will ensure safety for his community going forward.
Sarcone offered regional framing. He noted that Ulster County sits in the heart of the Hudson Valley with a significant portion covering Interstate 87, a known drug trafficking route, and said his office is proud to collaborate with Sheriff Figueroa to keep all residents of the Hudson Valley safe.
A companion grant for Clinton County
Ulster County was not the only recipient. Clinton County received a companion $500,000 Byrne grant through the same announcement, earmarked to purchase a mission-specific vessel for emergency response and border patrol on Lake Champlain, which runs along the international boundary with Canada. Sarcone described adequately patrolling Lake Champlain as essential to protecting the Canadian border.
The two grants reflect different but related law enforcement priorities, one focused on inland drug corridors and county infrastructure, the other on a waterway with direct international exposure.
Surveillance tools and regional debate
The grant arrives at a moment of visible tension over law enforcement technology in the Hudson Valley. In neighboring Dutchess County, lawmakers recently moved to cover Flock automated license plate reader cameras following public outcry over their use, according to Mid Hudson News. The Ulster County grant includes funding for similar camera and license plate reader infrastructure.
That regional backdrop gives the Ulster announcement added significance. Federal dollars are flowing into local police technology at a moment when the public appetite for such tools is openly contested. How Ulster County implements the license plate reader component, and how transparently it communicates those policies, may draw scrutiny that neighboring counties have already experienced.
No local legislative review or public process was mentioned in the federal announcement.
Next steps
The Sheriff's Office has not yet released a timeline for individual procurements. As the largest single-line items in the grant, the next generation 911 system and the automated license plate reader infrastructure are likely to draw the most attention as implementation moves forward.
The grant was first reported locally by Todd Bender at Mid Hudson News on October 10, 2026.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York; Mid Hudson News
