ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER ANNOUNCES LAW ENFORCEMENT GRANT TO THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

$2.8 Million FY 2009 Grant Addresses Public Safety in the District

           WASHINGTON ? U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the award of more than $2.8 million in FY 2009 funds for the District of Columbia to maintain or increase public safety in the district. These Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program funds are the first Office of Justice Programs (OJP) FY 2009 award to the district government and will help prevent crime and improve the criminal justice system.

           ?This additional funding will play an important role in helping local communities address their criminal justice challenges,? Attorney General Holder said. ?These funds will help our partners fight crime and build safer communities, and we look forward to continued work with the District of Columbia to address these criminal justice goals.?

           The District of Columbia plans to continue its comprehensive crime control and prevention strategy by supporting technology to enhance core operations, communications and computer equipment to improve multi-agency collaboration; data-collection, research, and evaluation to increase transparency and accountability on program performance; while focusing on law enforcement, prevention and education, technology and research, corrections and community corrections, with special emphasis on at-risk youth/status offender diversion, data and technology capacity improvements, diversion initiatives, evidence-based services for adjudicated youth, prisoner reentry, and research and evaluation.

           The procedure for allocating JAG grants is based on a formula of population and violent crime statistics, in combination with a minimum allocation to ensure that each state and territory receives an appropriate share of funding.

           The JAG Program is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions and is managed by OJP's Bureau of Justice Assistance. JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system, from multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces to crime prevention and domestic violence programs, courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives. Projects may address crime through the provision of services directly to individuals and/or communities and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice systems, processes, and procedures. For more details on the JAG Program visit ojp.gov.

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           The Office of Justice Programs, headed by Acting Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has five component bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime. Additionally, OJP has two program offices: the Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporates the Weed and Seed strategy, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART).  More information can be found at ojp.gov.

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