(KNZA)--The Brown County Sheriff’s Department has been awarded a federal grant.

According to a press release, the Sheriff’s Office was recently notified it had been selected to receive just over $45,000 as part of the Federal Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.

Sheriff John Merchant said the grant would be used to fund the purchase of 3-mobile automatic license plate readers. The release says the license plate readers will enhance officer safety and help officers identify stolen vehicles and vehicles of interest more readily.

The system can be live linked to law enforcement data bases allowing access to timely information such as Amber or Silver Alerts.