UNION CITY –The Union City police department and the United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have purchased three new vehicles with the city’s share of forfeited criminal profits that came from joint investigations.
The $26,000 2012 Chevrolet ‘Police-Package’ Impalas specially outfitted for police use and have emergency lights, sirens and police radios.
“During these times of economic belt-tightening, and doing more with less,” Mayor Brian Stack stated in an April 25 press release, “Union City is able to provide new equipment to front line police personnel at no cost to the taxpayers.”
“Having a Union City detective assigned to HSI benefits us not only with shared assets seized from criminals,” Police Chief Brian Barrett said in the same release, “but also personnel, information and resource sharing between our two agencies.”
“HSI’s strong partnership and excellent working relationship with the Union City Police Department has again proven invaluable in taking criminals off the street and returning their illicit proceeds back to the community,” Special Agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Newark announced. “Returning seized assets used by criminal organizations to the Union City Police Department – the ICE HSI Asset Forfeiture/Equitable Sharing program – is one of many ways law enforcement agencies can partner with ICE HSI to address law enforcement needs in their communities.”