Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2009, $3,500,000)
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 provides 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).
The Local-to-Local Information Exchange for Rural Law Enforcement Program is designed to improve the capacity of local criminal justice systems and provide national support for local-to-local information sharing projects that strategically address information exchange between rural law enforcement agencies.
The Pegasus Research Foundation will create the capacity for rural law enforcement agencies to share law enforcement data and information, not categorized as criminal intelligence, nationwide with a focus on solving routine crimes. They will connect to rural law enforcement agencies' existing information systems without requiring additional investment or upgrade, as well as enable the capability to search information in the rural law enforcement agencies' existing information systems. The Pegasus Research Foundation will develop, provide, or facilitate the integration of a technology using secure authentication, which will be provided to the agencies sharing information to verify the user either requesting or receiving information. They will develop and implement a program policy addressing privacy and civil liberties protections, and require adoption by all users in order to participate in the program. They will provide information sharing capacity that can be adapted to include future or existing communities of practice, such as homeland security, first responder, and emergency management personnel. The Pegasus Research Foundation will assist rural law enforcement agencies in understanding the value of sharing information and the development of departmental information sharing policies.
CA/NCF