RUMFORD – To better safeguard officers in an increasingly violent world, police Chief Stacy Carter is now authorized to pursue a federal grant of more than $38,000 to buy guns and fund drug enforcement activities.

Selectmen at Thursday’s board meeting unanimously gave Carter permission to apply for $38,594, most of which will be pooled with other law enforcement agencies to combat area drug abuse.

“We want to be aggressive with this and provide relief to our citizens,” the chief said of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, or JAG for short.

It comes from the U.S. Department of Justice Recovery Act.

No matching funds are required to get the guaranteed money, which has been awarded pending receipt of a required application.

“This is a great opportunity to pool our resources with other area agencies to address this very serious issue. This is the first time that Rumford has gotten this grant that I know of. A majority of the police departments that get it use it for equipment purposes. I would like to use it the same way so as not to use taxpayers money,” Carter said.

His priorities, according to a handout given to selectmen, are:

• $17,000 for manpower needs in drug investigations.

• $5,000 to buy five patrol rifles to replace outdated shotguns, thereby increasing accuracy at safer distances.

• $5,000 to buy two ballistic shields.

• $5,000 to buy a new identification card printer rather than repair the old printer, the warranty of which has expired.

• $3,000 to upgrade the department’s existing security camera system, most of which is currently inoperable.

• $2,000 to buy two Tasers to supplement the department’s two other electronic stun weapons.

• $1,500 to buy 10 lights for duty weapons with holders.

“A large percentage of crimes that we deal with are stemming from drug use and/or abuse. Drug use is really the root of our problems. Most major and/or violent crimes stem from the need to fund the addiction,” Carter said.

In Rumford, he said drug addictions affect all walks of life.

Combating the problem requires many hours of police work, which cannot be funded without grants like the JAG.

“The world we live in is not anything like it was even a few years ago. All you have to do is look around the nation and see the violence that is out there. The economic times are certainly making things worse,” Carter said.

To drive home his point, the chief noted: “Carthage, N.C., population 1,900, gunman kills 8; Binghamton, N.Y., gunman kills 13; Stockton Springs, Maine, elementary school, armed man holds 11 students hostage. We train our officers for scenarios such as these that can happen in our community at any time, yet we do not have the proper equipment to protect ourselves,” Carter said.

Armed suspects are also increasingly targeting Maine’s banks, stores and pharmacies.

“Within these economic times and layoffs around us, we are vulnerable to similar incidents here. As we do drug search warrants, we commonly find that the offenders have loaded weapons (that are) easily accessible. We do not want to be out-gunned,” Carter said.