Imagine the law enforcement officer of the future.

With laptops in patrol cars and the latest in crime scene technology, that future is now in Adams County

&uot;We’ve come a long way from … going into a crime scene and just trying to lift prints or find prints,&uot; said Adams County Sheriff Tommy Ferrell.

Thanks to help of grant funds from the U.S. Department of Justice, law enforcement agencies such as the Adams County Sheriffs Department and the Natchez Police Department have been able to make improvements in technology.

In the past few years, hundreds of thousands of dollars have entered Natchez and Adams County. This year the sheriff’s department should receive $148,654, Ferrell said in a public hearing on the grant during Monday’s Adams County Board of Supervisor meeting.

The reason for the funding is simple.

&uot;So you will have the latest technology and probably the most up to date sheriff’s office in the state of Mississippi,&uot; Ferrell said.

In recent years, the sheriff’s department has used these funds for laptops for deputies, jail cameras, a new phone system and new radio equipment.

In the future, Ferrell said the department may spend the grant funding on crime scene cameras for each patrol car and additional laptop computers for the deputies. The laptops cut down on paperwork and give the deputies more time on the street to protect the public, Ferrell said.

The department also wants to replace its crime scene camcorder and video system, updated its crime scene fingerprint kits and to purchase a crime scene deflective light system.

It also may purchase new bullet-proof vests.

&uot;We have vests now but we’re looking at the latest advancements and updates for the protection of our individual officers,&uot; Ferrell said.

The new vests cost about $1,000 each &uot;but they’re worth it.&uot;

The new vests would be made out of better and more lightweight material and would be more durable. And statistics show that the vests save lives, Ferrell said.

&uot;Some officers don’t leave home without them so to speak,&uot; Ferrell said. &uot;I can’t even be able to get into the number of people that have been saved because of vests.&uot;

&160;

&160;