The Butler County Sheriff is applying for grant funding to help local law enforcement in responding to drug-related investigations.
The grant application would reward the county with funding to purchase five mobile mass spectrometers. Sheriff Mike Slupe says these devices help field analysis of unknown substances so law enforcement can properly assess threat levels.
He also says one of the big hold-ups in drug investigations is getting the substances through lab testing. He believes these devices would reduce the number of cases going to the lab by 30 percent.
The spectrometers would be shared with local police departments throughout the county divided by regions.
