National Crime Prevention Association

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 National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) will use the grant funds to manage the National Crime Prevention Association (NCPA), an organization for individual crime prevention practitioners. NCPC has developed the crime prevention strategy, embodied in the National Crime Prevention Association, to help crime prevention practitioners acquire the skills needed to help stem the advance in crime. As active members of this association, trained crime prevention professionals, who will come from many law enforcement disciplines, social services, and local, state, and federal agencies, will be much better able to serve the needs of crime prevention in communities across the country. The development and sustenance of a professional crime practitioners' association will provide trained crime prevention professionals with a forum for exchanging information and ideas on best crime prevention practices, with an opportunity for developing relationships, and with a source of high-quality training on crime prevention topics relevant to the issues these practitioners face in their communities today.

CA/NCF