(Miami, FL)-- Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and Miami Police Chief John Timoney will join Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in announcing $400,000 in funding for the Miami Police Department’s Photo Lab Upgrades Project. Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen was able to secure the funds for this project in the Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations bill.

The City of Miami Police Department Photo Lab Upgrades Project will upgrade and digitize the City's police department photo lab. Funds will be used to incorporate digital cameras, memory card readers and a digital photographic laboratory system which will replace the antiquated film technology that is currently in use. Funding for photo lab upgrades will facilitate the investigative and prosecutorial efforts of the law enforcement community in the City of Miami, with national crime fighting implications that extend beyond Southern Florida in circumstances when fugitives flee the City to avoid prosecution.