BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The Bellingham Police Department (BPD) has been awarded $3.7 million through Washington State’s Public Safety Funding Program. The localized financial injection is earmarked to expand field technology, reinforce patrol staffing baselines, and sustain the city’s alternative emergency response networks.
A notable portion of the grant will finance the launch of a “Drone as First Responder” initiative. The program is designed to deploy unmanned aerial hardware to active incident scenes ahead of responding personnel, supplying real-time site data to “provide quick and accurate information about incidents that can reduce unnecessary responses.” Grant funds will also purchase and install front-facing dashcams across the department’s entire front-line patrol vehicle fleet to improve operational transparency.
On the staffing front, the state-funded award allows BPD to unfreeze and fill three police officer positions that were frozen during recent municipal budget cycles. Additionally, the funds will establish a new specialized warrant officer position and add a Support Services Specialist to the internal administrative roster. The remainder of the capital will cover regional funding gaps within the local Alternative Response Team (ART) and supplement the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services budget.
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