FY 2009 Justice Assistance Grant Program

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (JAG) allows states and units of local governments, including tribes, to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on their own state and 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, including 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 and enforcement programs; 6) planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs; and 7) crime victim and witness programs (other than compensation).

The city of Haverhill will use its Fiscal Year 2009 JAG award in the amount of $41,115 to purchase two police all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), three ruggedized laptops and one automatic license plate reader (ALPR). The city of Haverhill covers approximately 36 square miles of which 1,700 acres are comprised of city-owned conservation land. Due to environmental restrictions and regulations, officers cannot access the conservation land by conventional means and as a result, various criminal activities in these areas continue unhindered. The Haverhill Police Department will use grant funds to purchase two police ATVs that will used to patrol areas that are not easily accessible in the conservation area. The grant funds will also be used to purchase three ruggedized laptops that will be mounted in patrol vehicles. The new laptops will replace the outdated computers that officers currently use. In order to combat the growing number of vehicular infractions and crimes, the Haverhill Police Department plans to utilize grant funds for the purchase of an Automatic License Plate Reader. With the ALPR device installed on cruisers, the license plates of vehicles passed during patrol are read and processed. The license plate numbers are then cross-checked with records of plates that have a suspended, revoked, or expired registration, a history of drunken driving, and/or warrants. The technology of ALPR devices will expand the observation and detection abilities of traffic safety personnel within the city of Haverhill.

NCA/NCF