Maricopa County Justice Assistance Grant - 2008

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (JAG) allows states, tribes, and local governments to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on their own local needs and conditions. Grant funds can be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice for any one or more of the following purpose areas: 1) law enforcement programs; 2) prosecution and court programs; 3) prevention and education programs; 4) corrections and community corrections programs; 5) drug treatment programs; 6) planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs; and 7) crime victim and witness programs (other than compensation).

The disparate jurisdictions of the county of Maricopa and the cities of Glendale, Mesa, Phoenix, and Tempe will utilize their Fiscal Year 2008 JAG award in the amount of $578,399 to fund criminal justice programs. The fiscal agent, Maricopa County, will fund the Community Restitution Program, which employs on-call weekend work crew leaders to oversee probationer activity at work projects. Each month, crew leaders initiate, coordinate, and supervise over 400 work projects for adult offenders. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office has experienced continual increases in firearms-related crime. A very high percentage of cases for these crimes go to trial. This grant will fund one prosecutor who will focus on dangerous crime and firearm-related cases. The county will also fund electronic monitoring for juvenile offenders that allows for home detention for reduced-risk offenders with monitoring to ensure compliance and make immediate responses if violations occur. The limited number of secure detention beds can then be reserved for higher-risk offenders. Maricopa County will also pay overtime for the Maricopa County Neighborhood Narcotics Enforcement Team (MCNNET) Program. As enforcement of narcotics and methamphetamine in the metropolitan Phoenix area continues, activity in the surrounding communities is expected to increase, as criminals attempt to escape the heightened law enforcement pressure from the metropolitan area. Narcotics traffickers have established a presence in western Maricopa County communities, which are now experiencing the violence and other criminal activities plaguing the inner cities. The overtime will pay for temporary/short-term enforcement efforts. Overtime will also pay the county's Parcel Interdiction Team, who seeks to identify parcels and shipments containing narcotics or currency related to the trafficking of illicit drugs. They also identify the criminal organizations behind the shipments and educate private mailbox companies on drug shippers.

The city of Glendale will pay for mobile data communication systems, which will enhance the speed, capacity, and storage of the police department's data system. The police department will connect additional field equipment so that officers are able to more effectively communicate with the department and become less reliant on voice communications. The city of Mesa will purchase Smartboards for the multi-agency East Valley Gang Fusion Center. Software will also be added to the Coplink system for exporting police records data to the FBI N-Dex system. The city of Tempe will also spend their portion of the JAG funding for the East Valley Gang Fusion Center. Tempe will buy Smartboards, Sympodiums, and computers in order to facilitate information-sharing with fusion center member agencies. These items will allow for real-time, joint, intra-agency, and inter-agency briefings. The city of Phoenix will pay the salary of a forensic scientist in the Controlled Substances Section. The scientist will analyze all suspected drug evidence that is confiscated by the police department.

NCA/NCF