As part of their efforts to better equip officers with necessary safety devices and tools, the Butler County Sheriff's Office has purchased a new traffic device.

"We have purchased ten sets of Stinger Spike Systems' to go in patrol units," said Sheriff Diane Harris. "These devices serve as a way for us to reduce the dangers involving high speed chases of criminals."

The devices, commonly referred to as spike strips' are easily deployed, and just as easily retracted, according to Chief Deputy Kenny Harden.

"These serve as a tire deflation device n a safe means of stopping a high-speed pursuit, and reducing the risk of bystanders, other motorists and officers' lives from being harmed," Harden said.

"All law enforcement should have them," Harris said. "They pay for themselves each day, when lives of the public and officers are shielded from injury and even death during a chase."

"We were able to purchase these devices at no cost to the taxpayers of Butler County by using funds from recovered money involving the Heartsill case," Harden said.

"Also purchased from the funds were 16-channel walkie-talkies," Harris said. "This better equips both our deputies and corrections officers with more dependable communication n we also were able to upgrade all of our Southern Linc' digital radios."

Harden said the corrections division has also benefited from the money.

"We were able to purchase a van to be used by our corrections program for trash pickup on the county's roadways," Harden said. "we also purchased magnetic latent fingerprint kits for all our deputies, which will better enable the department in processing crime scenes."

"This is just another way to show that crime-fighting efforts are bettered by crime-fighting efforts," Harris said.