Culture of Safety Training Program

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 March and April of this year, 57 people were slain in 8 events. Seven were police officers serving in Oakland, California and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In many of these cases, the suspects were described as troubled and frustrated by the circumstances of their lives. This project will be based on research previously conducted by BJA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which included offender and officer interviews. The County of Fairfax will offer training that discusses the important behavioral and circumstantial factors that often contribute to assaults on law enforcement officers. The purpose of this project is to instill the necessary law enforcement officer situational and behavioral awareness so that they survive deadly circumstances. The County of Fairfax will conduct a minimum of 10 regional training sessions throughout the country as well as up to 2 special seminars to meet emerging needs.

CA/NCF