By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran last week announced that a $132,000 grant was secured for the City of Great Bend to purchase license plate recognition technology and cameras. The federal grant will allow law enforcement to track criminals that drive through the city.
RELATED STORY: Great Bend receives $132K grant for license plate reading technology
Moran noted the new technology is not only useful for local law enforcement,
but also helps a need to improve national security. For years, there were
concerned conversations of illegal immigrants coming into the United States and
taking Americans’ jobs. That concern has changed, according to Moran.
"From
my perspective, the greatest threat we have from what's taking place on
our borders is fentanyl and other drugs, human trafficking and
terrorism," said Moran. "While we want to be helpful to local law
enforcement in protecting their citizens, in a broader national way, we
need to make sure there is more security, more difficulty for people to
come illegally to the United States."
Moran felt there are a number of things that can be done to improve the country’s
security that would receive enough non-partisan support, but you have to find
the “sweet spots” that are agreeable. Moran felt strongly that improved
security along the United States and Mexico border is needed, and the border
wall at least slows down the drug trafficking.
"There is a demand for these drugs that rests with us," said Moran.
"There are huge sums of money. Law enforcement faces tremendous
challenges. You can stop something now, but the amount of money that can
be made is so large that there is great incentive to find another way
to do it."
Moran finished by saying the United States has a lot of work to do to try to
reduce the demand for drugs.