DOJ’s Office of Justice programs awards $458M to fight violent crime

The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) awarded more than $458 million in grant funding for state, local, and tribal law enforcement to fight violent crime.

OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance made a total of 1,094 grants totaling more than $369 million to support local law enforcement’s violent crime prevention efforts. OJP’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention awarded more than $10 million across 24 jurisdictions to suppress youth gang activity, along with $1 million to the Institute for Intergovernmental Research to continue operating the National Gang Center. Also, OJP’s National Institute of Justice awarded $7.3 million to fund research on preventing and reducing violent crime. Finally, OJP’s Bureau of Justice Statistics provided more than $69 million to strengthen the quality and accessibility of records within the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

“Violence has become a tragic reality in too many of America’s communities,” OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine Sullivan said. “Working with officials across the Trump Administration and with thousands of state, local and tribal crime-fighters across the country, the Department of Justice is leading the response to this urgent challenge. OJP is pleased to make these resources available to support innovative, tested, and diverse solutions to violent crime.”

The Office of Justice Programs, directed by Sullivan, provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance, and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims, and enhance the rule of law criminal and juvenile justice systems.