Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium

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 Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium will use its Fiscal Year 2007 Byrne Discretionary Category 1: Targeting Violent Crime grant funds to implement a multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency project to address violent crime in partnership with the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Ohio, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, and the Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Kent State University. The goals of the project are to: 1) plan and implement a coordinated and effective intelligence-led, data driven, multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency violent crime reduction strategy focusing on firearms suppression and gun-related crime; 2) provide increased information system programs to enhance enforcement efforts and information needs; 3) strengthen partnerships between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and community stakeholders; 4) build community capacity to prevent violent crime; and 5) complete a methodologically sound evaluation. The project will involve hot spot identification, directed patrols and targeted enforcement, highway interdiction, gun tracking, surveillance of probationers and parolees, officer training, and community planning and capacity building for violence prevention.

CA/CF