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 Hampton will use its Fiscal Year 2009 JAG award in the amount of $104,000 to support the crime fighting and prevention initiatives of the Hampton Police Department. The department will use the funds to improve and advance the status and utilization of technological assets in the daily operations of their agency. These improvements include procuring four new computer servers, expanding their high-speed mobile data/dispatch network, initiating a new technology program/service that allows the public to anonymously submit tips about criminal activity via text message and allows the police department to directly disseminate community alerts by both text message and automated publication to various social networking sites, enhanceing the Records Management System that will automatically notify investigators and analysts when significant data changes in system, relative to their cases, upgrading part of their Central Records Unit computers, adding a computer display in their training room, training staff and crime analysts, facilitating enhanced network connectivity for their investigators, and obtaining a network display monitor for their I.T. manager to facilitate the enhanced control and management of the computer networks to maximize computer system efficiency.

NCA/NCF