Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2009, $200,000)
This program is funded under both the Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program (Byrne Competitive Program) and the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. Authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2009 (Pub. L. 111-8), the Byrne Competitive Program helps local communities improve the capacity of state and local justice systems and provides for national support efforts including training and technical assistance programs strategically targeted to address local needs. The JAG Program (42 U.S.C. 3751(a)) is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions, and JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system. The JAG Program authorization also states that 'the Attorney General may reserve not more than 5 percent, to be granted to 1 or more States or units of local government, for 1 or more of the purposes specified in section 3751 of this title, pursuant to his determination that the same is necessary'(1) to combat, address, or otherwise respond to precipitous or extraordinary increases in crime, or in a type or types of crime' (42 U.S.C. 3756). This program is also funded in part by the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Assistance Program (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2009 PUB. L. 111-8), which provides funds to defray the cost of planning, designing, establishing, and operating locally based, proactive programs to protect and locate missing patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and other missing elderly individuals.
The National Initiatives: Enhancing Law Enforcement Program, administered by the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), helps improve criminal justice systems and provides national programs and national efforts such as training and technical assistance to strategically address the needs of state and local justice systems and communities.
In 2008, BJA funded the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to develop: 1) a guidebook for law enforcement agencies and administrators, covering the entire spectrum of issues related to returning combat veterans making a successful transition back into community-based law enforcement; and 2) a guidebook for returning combat veterans to help them understand the opportunities available for a career in law enforcement. IACP will implement the next phase of the Employing Returning Vets as Police Officers initiative. They will develop and implement a national dissemination strategy for the two guidebooks with the integrated capability to track the dissemination and use of the information. IACP will conduct an assessment of current outreach strategies to determine whether materials have been effective and how they have enhanced or changed the recruitment of veterans into positions with law enforcement agencies. Based on the outcome of the assessment, they will develop a strategy for future marketing of the Employing Returning Vets as Police Officers initiative, creating or updating marketing materials. They will also develop a BJA guidebook for families of returning law enforcement-affiliated veterans.
CA/NCF