Salisbury Township is the beneficiary of a $102,547 casino corridor grant to help purchase a new vehicle and electronic equipment for Salisbury Township Police Department patrol cars.

Salisbury Township Chief of Police Allen W. Stiles announced receipt of the grant at the July 28 board of commissioners’ meeting.

It is the sixth year in a row the township police department has received the grant, which is administered and shared through an agreement between Lehigh and Northampton counties as part of the original approval for the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.

“We’ll be involved in traffic enforcement in lots of areas,” Stiles said.

Allocation of the grant in Salisbury, according to Stiles, includes the funding of: 375 additional hours of police officer traffic patrols; new patrol vehicle and gear, including a license plate reader system; two mobile data terminals for patrol vehicles; two car camera systems for two vehicles where police reports and video are downloaded automatically when a patrol car pulls into the township police headquarters area; nine e-ticket systems, whereby the electronic system scans a license plate and registration and prints out a ticket in the patrol vehicle (the department has 18 vehicles) and three window-tint meters, which determine whether a motorist’s tinted windshield is too dark.

The township is expected to receive the funds after the agreement for the grant is signed between Salisbury and Lehigh County.

Salisbury is included as a grant recipient by Lehigh County because the so-called casino corridor, mainly East Susquehanna Street, East Emmaus Avenue, Seidersville Road and Broadway in the township, are considered among thoroughfares motorists use to travel to and from the Sands, Route 412 and Minsi Trail Bridge, on Bethlehem’s south side.

Lehigh County receives a portion of revenues derived from the Sands Casino for the purpose of making municipal grants in the county, according to the county website. The Gaming Act provides the funds for municipal grants such as for human services, infrastructure improvements, facilities, emergency services and health and public safety expenses associated with licensed gaming operations.

In his report to township commissioners, Stiles also noted his attendance July 22 at the “Advancing 21st Century Police Briefing” at the White House, Washington, D.C.

The program, attended by approximately 100 United States law enforcement executives, included a visit from President Barack Obama, according to Stiles.

“I was probably one of the chiefs from one of the smaller police departments,” Stiles said.

“We were very fortunate to have the president stop in and we got to spend 15 minutes with him,” Stiles said.

Topics discussed, Stiles reported, included “the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing Report and several related and relevant current events,” including training and use of social media.