Systemic Change Through Community Prosecution And Education

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 University of Maryland School of Law will use their 2007 Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Discretionary Grant for a project titled 'Systemic Change Through Community Prosecution & Education.' The funds will be used to continue an on-going project in the Hargrove District Court, serving the communities of Cherry Hill and Washington Village/ Pigtown, whereby law students are directly involved in prosecuting cases brought by the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office. The deliverable for this project will be a manual on community prosecution to be used in training for new and current personnel at the BCSAO and will be available to prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges. The project is administered by University of Maryland School of Law and will be evaluated by a separate, neutral university within the University of Maryland system. To sustain the project at the end of the grant period the Law School will seek funding from philanthropic organizations.

CA/NCF