ACLCE Play by the Rules National Project

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.

Every child deserves to grow up in a safe environment with a chance to become a productive, law abiding citizen. Juvenile delinquency is a prevalent threat to our children and communities. In 2002, U.S. juvenile courts handled an estimated 1.6 million cases in which juveniles were charged with a delinquency offense. U.S. juvenile courts handled more than 4,400 delinquency cases per day in 2002 in comparison with 1,100 processed daily in 1960. In 2004 in the United States as a whole, over 96,600 youth were in detention.

The Alabama Center for Law & Civic Education is implementing Phase II of the Play by the Rules (PBR) National Project, a crime prevention model for teaching state-specific law to middle school students, teachers, parents, and community leaders. The project will provide youth with the tools they need to prevent crime, save lives, and build safer communities. PBR will also provide American youth with a manual of the norms of society, as they have been enacted into law and to which youth are expected to subscribe. The ultimate goal of this project is to provide other jurisdictions with a crime prevention program that can be implemented and replicated.

CA/NCF