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Grants 101

Section 6

Enhancing Law Enforcement Initiatives

Overview

Community partnerships have contributed to the decline in violent crime in many cities throughout the country; however, there are still sections in some cities, as well as in some small towns and rural areas, which continue to be plagued by high instances of violent crime. OJP will continue to work closely with state and local law enforcement organizations, researchers, and other professionals to develop and implement strategies to address the needs of these cities.

In addition, OJP recognizes that the nation’s economic issues require close examination of state, local, and federal spending. Public leaders are reallocating resources to optimize the return on public investment. Because of budgetary constraints, law enforcement leaders need to examine and adopt evidence-based and data-driven strategies for crime reduction efforts.

The grant programs outlined in this chapter are intended to help state and local law enforcement and other partners respond to constrained budgets and still ensure public safety.

Discretionary Programs

Program Name Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force Initiative
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding $12,500,000
OJP Sponsor BJA
Web Link www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/httf.html
Program Contact Lon McDougal, (202) 307-3678, Lonnie.R.McDougal@usdoj.gov
Program Description
Human trafficking is reputed to be one of the most profitable and fastest growing endeavors of organized crime—an endeavor that enslaves thousands of people within the United States each year and perhaps millions internationally. DOJ includes investigating human trafficking among its top priorities. To address this problem, BJA will continue to provide funds for state, local, and territorial law enforcement to proactively investigate human trafficking with the primary goal of identifying and rescuing victims of severe forms of trafficking, defined as (a) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or (b) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

Program Name Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program
Grantees Competitive
FY 2010 Funding $40,000,000
OJP Sponsor BJA
Web Link N/A
Program Contact Pam Cammarata, (202) 514-9193, Pam.Cammarata@usdoj.gov
Program Description
The Byrne Competitive Program helps individual communities improve the capacity of their local justice systems and provides for national support efforts, including training and technical assistance programs strategically targeted to address local needs. Funds can be used for replication, expansion, enhancement, training, and technical assistance programs. Funds will be used to improve or enhance the administration and operations of the law enforcement function in local adult criminal justice systems and to prevent crime in local communities.

Eligible applicants include national, regional, state, or local public and private entities, including for-profit and nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, institutions of higher education, tribal jurisdictions, and units of local government. Projects must seek to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system and to assist victims of crime in ways other than compensation. For-profit organizations must agree to waive any profit or fees for services. Joint applications are permissible, with one agency being the applicant agency.

Training and Technical Assistance

Program Name Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Training and Technical Assistance Program
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding $2,000,000
OJP Sponsor BJA
Web Link www.psn.gov/training/index.html
Program Contact James Chavis, (202) 307-0688, James.Chavis@usdoj.gov
Program Description
PSN is a strategy designed to reduce gun and gang crime in the United States, focusing on aggressive and coordinated enforcement of existing gun laws in federal and state courts, and effective strategies to reduce and prevent gang crime. The PSN strategy focuses on the implementation of five elements that are integral to a comprehensive, coordinated gun and gang crime reduction and prevention program. These elements are partnerships, strategic planning, training, community outreach, and accountability. Over the past several years, BJA has supported these five PSN elements through both direct grant funds to local communities and the delivery of nationwide training and technical assistance (TTA). The PSN TTA Program is designed to deliver TTA services to state and local law enforcement, criminal justice partners, and communities in areas of the nation that are experiencing gun and gang violence.

Program Name Drug Market Intervention Initiative
Grantee Michigan State University (Continuation)
OJP Sponsor BJA
Web Link www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/topics/DMII.pdf
Point of Contact Danica Szarvas-Kidd, (202) 305-7416, Danica.Szarvas-Kidd@usdoj.gov
Program Description
In 2007, through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), BJA created a training and technical assistance project for local teams interested in implementing an open-air drug market intervention (DMI) initiative that is commonly referred to as the High Point model. DMI addresses the challenge of effectively responding to illegal drug markets and their associated crime, violence, and disorder that has proved challenging for communities and law enforcement for decades. DMI is a strategic problem-solving initiative to permanently eliminate open-air drug markets. The strategy targets individual geographic drug markets and prosecutes the most violent offenders as examples. The strategy then targets low level offenders and stages an intervention with families and community leaders. Law enforcement mobilizes community residents, leaders, and family members of low level drug dealers to voice their intolerance for this criminal behavior and to create opportunities and support for the offenders. Offenders are given the opportunity to correct criminal behavior (or face lengthy prison sentences) and are provided assistance in locating employment, housing, transportation, health care, and access to other social services. This initiative consists of 3 trainings for up to 10 target sites interested in replicating the strategy. Each selected site’s team consists of a law enforcement officer, local prosecutor, community leader, and social service provider who attend all three trainings. Each team receives a site visit from a BJA technical assistance provider along with ongoing support to help local teams adapt the model to their unique local context.

Research and Statistical Programs

Program Name Creating a New Generation of Policing
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding TBD
OJP Sponsor BJA
Web Link www.ojp.gov/bja
Program Contact David Lewis, (202) 616-7829, David.P.Lewis@usdoj.gov
Program Description
This program provides an assessment of previous data-driven policing models as they relate to emerging trends in policing, most notably in the evolving concepts of predictive policing. With these burgeoning best practice approaches to combating crime, a new view for implementing technology and information sharing at local law enforcement agencies must be examined. The program will engage current activities around predictive policing and plan and execute a national strategy for governance, support services, and products to enable effective implementation of the next generation of policing procedures that have the potential to improve public safety nationwide.

Program Name National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP)
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding $11,500,000
OJP Sponsor BJS
Web Link bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov
Program Contact Devon B. Adams, (202) 514-9157, Devon.Adams@usdoj.gov
Program Description
This program helps states and territories to improve the quality, timeliness, and immediate accessibility of criminal history and related records for use by federal, state, and local law enforcement. These records play a vital role in supporting criminal investigations, background checks, and efforts to enforce protective orders issued in response to stalking and domestic violence offenses. This program is competitive among state applicants.

Program Name Combating Gang Violence
Grantee IJIS Institute (Continuation)
FY 2010 Funding $300,000
OJP Sponsor BJA
Web Link www.ojp.gov/bja
Program Contact David Lewis, (202) 616 7829, David.P.Lewis@usdoj.gov
Program Description
This program supports the sharing of gang information nationwide through the development of information exchange standards and collaboration with national partners around best practice solutions to combating gang proliferation and activity. Grantees will—

Develop a gang information exchange standard (IEPD, or Information Exchange Package Documentation) based on the National Information Exchange Model to automate and improve the sharing of gang data across systems.
Support implementation of a functional transfer of information to the FBI Violent Gang Terrorist Offender File (VGTOF) based on the gang standard.
Collaborate with local, state, tribal, and federal agencies (including the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, which is responsible for VGTOF, and the National Gang Intelligence Center) that are currently sharing gang information electronically, and identify opportunities to promote additional sharing of gang information.

Program Name RISSafe Deconfliction
Grantee Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) (Continuation)
FY 2010 Funding $1,500,000
OJP Sponsor BJA
Web Link www.riss.net
Program Contact David Lewis, (202) 616-7829, David.P.Lewis@usdoj.gov
Program Description
RISSafe is an officer safety event system that provides controlled and secure monitoring of law enforcement operations and the immediate notification of affected parties when conflicts arise. These operations include events such as raids, controlled buys, and surveillances and other events where officers could possibly encounter other law enforcement personnel working undercover.

RISSafe projects work in conjunction with mapping software to verify and plot data provided by officers to the RISSafe Watch Center. To maximize the utility of this application, officers may contact their RISSafe Watch Center by telephone, fax, or e-mail to initiate the event registration process. This process facilitates interagency notification when officers from multiple agencies may unknowingly be working on the same case.

RISSafe was initially deployed at the Western States Information Network and is currently expanding to the other five RISS Centers throughout the United States. Once in place, officer safety will be enhanced through a national officer safety deconfliction system.

Program Name 2010 Law Enforcement Agency Surveys
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding $850,000
OJP Sponsor BJS
Web Link bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov
Point of Contact Joel Garner, (202) 305-2688, Joel.Garner@usdoj.gov
Program Description
This program involves surveys of general purpose state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as law enforcement agencies with a more specific focus, such as law enforcement agencies on college and university campuses. In FY 2010, a design component will be added as an ongoing process to focus on methodological issues in the BJS law enforcement statistical programs in response to the 2009 National Academy of Sciences review of BJS. This component will focus on improving the timeliness and efficiency of current data collection efforts when surveying law enforcement organizations; creating geospatial linkages among general and special purpose law enforcement agencies; and designing a methodology and sample design to allow for supplemental, special topic surveys within the data collected from general purpose law enforcement agencies.

Program Name Arrest Related Deaths (ARD) Program
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding $350,000
OJP Sponsor BJS
Web Link bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov
Point of Contact Joel Garner, (202) 305-2688, Joel.Garner@usdoj.gov
Program Description
This program seeks assistance in the development and implementation of the Arrest-Related Deaths (ARD) Program for 2010 through 2011, and assistance in the development of alternative designs for the 2012 ARD Program. BJS collects data on all inmate deaths in local jails, state prisons, and juvenile correctional facilities. The Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) was expanded to include deaths that occur in the process of arrest by state and local law enforcement agencies. The purpose of the ARD program is to comprehensively identify and record deaths occurring during the process of arrest nationwide.

Program Name 2010 BJS Survey of Campus Law Enforcement Agencies
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding: $400,000
OJP Sponsor BJS
Web Link bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov
Point of Contact Joel Garner, (202) 305-2688, Joel.Garner@usdoj.gov
Program Description
The goal of this program is to generate accurate and reliable national statistics about special law enforcement service agencies such as the police and security agencies serving college and university campuses, crime laboratories, and other entities in the United States. The surveys will be conducted during calendar year 2010 and will collect information on the personnel, functions, budgets, policies, and programs that agencies used during the 2009 - 2010 school year.

Program Name Research on Eyewitness Identification Policies and Procedures
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding $1,500,000
OJP Sponsor NIJ
Web Link http://www.nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/investigations/eyewitness-identification/welcome.htm; http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000904.pdf
Program Contact Brett Chapman, (202) 514-2187, Brett.Chapman@usdoj.gov
Program Description
NIJ is seeking proposals to conduct research on eyewitness identification practices and to improve law enforcement policies and operations at the state and local levels. Eyewitness evidence plays a critical role in the criminal investigation process. However, its use in identifying criminals or exonerating the innocent is far from perfect. Eyewitness procedures may result in errors, such as the identification of the wrong person or the failure to identify the perpetrator. As state and local law enforcement agencies adopt policies and procedures governing eyewitness identification methods, important questions have emerged regarding their effectiveness in reducing error rates.

Program Name Research on Policing
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding $3,400,000
OJP Sponsor NIJ
Web Link http://www.nij.gov/nij/topics/law-enforcement/welcome.htm;
http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000889.pdf
Program Contact Brett Chapman, (202) 514-2187, Brett.Chapman@usdoj.gov
Program Description
NIJ is seeking proposals to conduct research on policing and to improve law enforcement policies and operations at the state and local levels. Effective law enforcement and crime prevention are of critical importance to ensuring the safety of communities throughout the country. Given the limited resources of most police departments and other local agencies and groups, it is especially important to determine the effectiveness of police department policies and public safety interventions.

Program Name Evaluation of Programs to Reduce Gang Membership, Crime, and Violence
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding $1,000,000
OJP Sponsor NIJ
Web Link www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij; http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000903.pdf
Program Contact Louis Tuthill, (202) 307-1015, Louis.Tuthill@usdoj.gov
Program Description
NIJ’s portfolio of gang research seeks to understand the interconnectedness of gang membership, firearms violence, drug sales, and criminal behavior, and how best to control and prevent gang-related crime. Communities that have reduced gang-related crime have done so by following certain principles and applying them to their unique problems, needs, and circumstances. NIJ has sponsored evaluations of several anti-violence and anti-gang programs, ranging from Chicago CeaseFire to Project Safe Neighborhoods. These programs were modeled after, and informed by, the strengths and weaknesses of previous efforts such as Boston CeaseFire and its offshoots (Project Exile and the Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiative). NIJ will issue a solicitation for further research about gangs.

Program Name Research on International Organized Crime
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding $1,000,000
OJP Sponsor NIJ
Web Link www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij; http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000938.pdf
Program Contact John Picarelli, (202) 307-3213, John.Picarelli@usdoj.gov
Program Description
NIJ seeks proposals for research on international organized crime (IOC) that can help State, local, tribal, or Federal criminal justice agencies meet the challenge of IOC in their jurisdictions. Proposals are sought to develop and analyze information and data having clear implications for criminal justice in the United States in the following focus areas: quantification of harm; penetration of strategic sectors; links between IOC and terrorism or insurgency; relationships between State, local, tribal, or Federal governments as well as foreign governments and IOC; and evaluations of counter-IOC tools or programs.

Program Name Evaluation of Recovery Act State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding $1,550,000
OJP Sponsor NIJ
Web Link www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij; http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000924.pdf
Program Contact Katharine Browning, (202) 616-4786, Katharine.Browning@usdoj.gov; Linda Truitt, (202) 353-9081, Linda.Truitt@usdoj.gov; Brett Chapman, (202) 514-2187, Brett.Chapman@usdoj.gov
Program Description
The Recovery Act provides funding for various competitive grant programs that are being administered by OJP. NIJ seeks applications that promote the goals of the Recovery Act through evaluations that support the purposes of three OJP Recovery Act competitive grant programs. Targeted areas include: (1) Programs that increase the capacity of State and local criminal justice systems in some of the areas identified in the Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program; (2) Programs or strategies that assist law enforcement in preventing and combating rural crime (especially drug-related crime); and (3) Improving efficiency and effectiveness of law enforcement in combating criminal narcotics activity along or stemming from the Southern border.

Program Name Evaluation of the BJA Drug Market Intervention (DMI) Training and Technical Assistance Initiative
Grantee Competitive
FY 2010 Funding $3,000,000
OJP Sponsor NIJ
Web Link www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij; http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000939.pdf
Point of Contact Louis Tuthill, (202) 307-1015, Louis.Tuthill@usdoj.gov
Program Description
NIJ seeks applications for a multi-year, multi-site evaluation of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Drug Market Intervention (DMI) Training and Technical Assistance Initiative. BJA will be supporting training and technical assistance at twelve sites within the United States. NIJ is soliciting applications to provide a comprehensive, rigorous, multi-year, multi-site process, outcome, and impact evaluation of the DMI at these sites.