Operation Clean Sweep

The Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program, administered by the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP's) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), furthers the Department's mission by assisting state and local jurisdictions in improving the criminal justice system and assisting communities in preventing drug abuse and crime. In fiscal year 2007, the Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program will focus on funding local, regional, and national efforts within six major categories: 1) targeting violent crime; 2) preventing crime and drug abuse; 3) enhancing local law enforcement; 4) enhancing local courts; 5) enhancing local corrections and offender reentry; and 6) facilitating justice information sharing. All categories combat, address, or otherwise respond to precipitous or extraordinary increases in crime, or in a type or types of crime.

The Indianapolis Public Housing Authority (PHA) will use its Fiscal Year 2007 Byrne Discretionary Category 1: Targeting Violent Crime Initiative funding to target the problems of violent crime, gang activity, drug crime, and fraud in public housing. The connection between these problems has been well-established, but reductions in funding for key Housing and Urban Development (HUD) initiatives, the defrauding of PHA by Section 8 landlords and residents, and outdated computer networking capabilities have thwarted PHA's ability to continue to comply with HUD's One Strike and You're Out regulation and to prevent fraud and crime in public housing communities. PHA will partner with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the HUD Office of the Inspector General, the Marion County Prosecuting Attorney, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Community Development Law Center, and Indianapolis Downtown Inc. to achieve these goals. They will purchase cameras, gunshot detection equipment, computers, network upgrades, investigatory computer programs, and communications equipment, as well as funding police investigation overtime, legal assistance for debt collection and nuisance properties, witness relocation, a public education campaign, a best practices report, and training and technical assistance for PHA employees, prosecutors, law enforcement, non-profits, and federal assistance recipients and landlords.

CA/NCF