ROCHESTER, N.Y. — This past May, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that millions of dollars in grant funding would be going to law enforcement agencies across New York state to help them upgrade technology. 

Like most people across New York, the Monroe County Sherriff’s Office isn’t immune to technology upgrades. But a new multimillion-dollar grant should fix that. 

Six-hundred and seventy-eight state law enforcement agencies applied for the Law Enforcement Technology Grant. Monroe County received $11.7 million, the most money out of all agencies. 

Chief Deputy Michael Fowler says one of the biggest ways the sheriff’s office plans to use the money is building a new regional investigative operations (RIOC) center. It’s a hub that will connect sheriff deputies with real-time information. 

"We’re going to manage the tech for them and provide them with updates over the radio," Fowler said. "So our officers don’t have to do two critical things at once."

Money is also going toward cameras, placed at intersections determined to be high traffic and crime areas. 

“Not just picking intersections out of a hat," Fowler said. "We’re using data collected over the years."

The new cameras can also work with license plate readers. The sheriff’s office is looking to upgrade the reader's software with the grant money. Fowler says it will be a huge help in curbing retail theft. 

Each law enforcement agency across the state can use their grant money how they see fit. But Fowler says the upgrades made in Monroe County will help other departments across the state.

“It will benefit all police agencies," Fowler said. "We’re going to share that information with them and deploy it in a cooperative manner."