Three of the five counties in the Times News coverage area will receive funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to help attract and train recruits to fill vacant municipal law enforcement position.

The commission did not specify which municipalities will receive the funding, listing the disbursements only by counties.

In its release, the agency said $234,671 will go to Lehigh County municipalities to help support 47 positions; $15,000 was awarded in Monroe County for three positions; and $189,906 will help to support 53 positions in Northampton County.

Municipalities in Carbon and Schuylkill counties did not receive any assistance through the program.

In making the announcement, PCCD said more than $3 -million in grants will be awarded across the commonwealth to help recruit and train officers for the positions. In addition, funding for over 800 new state troopers will become available for the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro.

The commission also announced, in addition to investing in hiring, recruiting and training law enforcement officers, it has delivered $5.8-million in grants to support law enforcement system upgrades which will enable the reporting of crime statistics to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Incident-Based Reporting System.

The money will help for upgrades to software, hardware and labor needed to install NIBRS-compliant record management systems; training on how to collect and submit NIBRS data; and/or technical assistance for personnel responsible for data collection and submission.

The data collected through NIBRS captures greater detail on criminal incidents than its predecessor (Uniform Crime Reporting System), including information on victims, known offenders, relationships between victims and offenders, arrestees, and property involved in crimes.

Broader utilization of NIBRS by law enforcement agencies will result in better data collection, which in turn will make law enforcement agencies more effective in keeping Pennsylvania communities safe, the commission said.