By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office is pursuing a new grant that will aid with training and recruiting efforts.

Sheriff Mike Murphy was before the County’s Courts, Public Safety, and Infrastructure and Development Committee to request submission of the grant application, earlier this week. According to a memo from Sgt. Chad Sell, the Office has been invited to participate in the State of Michigan’s First Responder Training and Recruitment Grant program for State fiscal year 2022.

While they could apply for up to $100,000, Murphy talked about the competitiveness of the grant, and said they have come up with a $50,000 game plan which should better their odds at funding. Money awarded can be used for any kind of training the Office might need and for recruitment efforts. The Sheriff discussed his staff experiencing a double dose of stress during COVID times, and suggested that mental health and well-being training could be funded with this, though nothing is concrete yet.

Murphy also shared recruiting ideas, saying they are putting together a video of the office and opportunities they have there, along with drafting literature for police academies and career days. The Sheriff recognized every employer’s struggle with getting employees in the door these days, noting that his profession has gotten beat up even more over the last couple of years, making it even more of a challenge.

The Committee approved the resolution to submit for the grant unanimously and it will now go to the full Board of Commissioners for final approval.