LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – City leaders and the Little Rock mayor will give over $1 million to improve Little Rock police cars and technology.

This comes just after the mayor announced that the crime rate had decreased compared to last year.

As public safety officers are hard at work canvasing the streets of the capital city, city leaders work to equip officers with the tools they need to reduce crime.

“It is just putting eyes out in the community to help our police do their job better,” Little Rock City Board Member for Ward 5 Lance Hines said.

This would mean the purchase of 169 mobile radios, 107 in-car radios and 107 WatchGuard cameras among other technology.

“I think everybody is supporting it, you know we have been pretty lockstep on support whether it is police salaries, police equipment, not just recently but over the years,” Hines said.

“I think it’s good that the city leaders are stepping in to try and help reduce the crime rate,” Little Rock resident Jameelah Meredith said.

During his State of the City Address on Monday, Mayor Frank Scott Jr. announced a downward trend in crime.

“Overall crime is down 7% compared to last year and violent crime is down 13%,” Scott said.

“We still have a lot of work on the perception of what is going on in our community that the data may be going one way, but public perception is still that we still have a long way to go,” Hines stated.

People living in Little Rock said they are excited to see leaders investing to improve public safety equipment to help continue that downward slide.

“It is a beautiful place to call home and I just want to feel safe and I just want my children to feel safe as well,” Meredith said.

The resolution passed and it will go into effect immediately.

The city will use the American Rescue Plan funds for the real-time crime operation center, and the rest of the funds come from the city’s police operating budget and fleet operating budget.