DOJ funds target crime reduction, law enforcement aid

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is allocating $370 million in grant funding to reduce violent crime while bolstering law enforcement support.

The allocations — which come through the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and National Institute of Justice (NIJ) —
cover a range of criminal justice and public safety activities that enable personnel in jurisdictions nationwide to adapt technology to public safety challenges.

Six new sites have been selected to be part of the DOJ’s National Public Safety Partnership — a nationwide collaborative officials noted is designed to address pressing local crime challenges.

“Our neighborhoods are safer and healthier when our law enforcement professionals have the tools and technology that they need to do their jobs and when the bonds of trust with the community are strong,” OJP Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maureen Henneberg said. “The funding helps provide comprehensive public safety solutions that are tailored to the needs of, and implemented in collaboration with, individual communities.”

Additionally, grant awards are slated to support training as a means of enhancing law enforcement resilience and wellness, fund body-worn camera programs and improve public safety while expanding community engagement.

“The National Public Safety Partnership’s federal engagement, with its selected sites, is one of the key pillars of the Justice Department’s work to reduce violence and help strengthen communities,” BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore said. “The collaboration among local entities while utilizing the support from the FBI, ATF, DEA and the U.S. Marshals is long-lasting and assists agencies in building best practices to sustain crime reduction for years to come.”