All Liberty County Sheriff’s Office patrol cars soon will have in-car radios, thanks to a recently announced public safety grant.

Gov. Brian Kemp announced preliminary grant awards totaling more than $83.3 million to address public safety measures and law enforcement staffing challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grant from the governor’s office to the Liberty County Sheriff ’s Office is for more than $466,000.

Getting in-car radios is something the office was in great need of, Sheriff Will Bowman said.

“Some of the deputies only had their handheld radios, or their cell phones, which is a danger,” he said.

The sheriff ’s office also will be getting flock camera systems for patrol cars, which enable deputies to read license plates. Sheriff Bowman said it will help his deputies find suspect vehicles and allow information on vehicles suspected of being involved in infractions to be shared.

“It’s going to come in handy,” he said.

Since he took office, the Liberty County Sheriff ’s Office has received more than $2 million in grants, Sheriff Bowman pointed out.

“The Liberty County Sheriff ’s Office is always trying to make our community safer and better,” he said.

Bowman added his office is transparent and is willing to talk with residents on any issue.