FY 2009 Recovery Act Justice Assistance Grant Program

This grant program is authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) (the 'Recovery Act') and by 42 U.S.C. 3751(a). The stated purposes of the Recovery Act are: to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; to assist those most impacted by the recession; to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; and to stabilize state and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases. The Recovery Act places great emphasis on accountability and transparency in the use of taxpayer dollars.

Among other things, it creates a new Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and a new website ' Recovery.gov ' to provide information to the public, including access to detailed information on grants and contracts made with Recovery Act funds.

The Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program funded under the Recovery Act is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. Recovery JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system, from multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces to crime prevention and domestic violence programs, courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives. Recovery JAG funded projects may address crime through the provision of services directly to individuals and/or communities and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice systems, processes, and procedures.

The Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County will use its Fiscal Year 2009 Recovery Act Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program award in the amount of $222,330 to support the completion of the Mobile In-car Laptop Computer Project. The Recovery Act grant funds for this project will improve the functioning of the criminal justice system within Athens-Clarke County. The funds will be used to provide every Uniform Division officers' vehicle access to the police department's Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management System (RMS). The goal of the project is to increase the department's mobile data reporting system by installing and providing full mobile computing deployment for the Uniform Division. Police vehicles will be equipped with 44 mobile in-car computers, software, and related hardware. This equipment will allow police officers to make decisions based on the most current data and to produce and transmit digital police reports. Officers will be measurably safer by eliminating the current unsafe practice of officers going on calls without informing the 911 communications center. Laptops will be installed in each of the patrol vehicles within six to eight weeks upon receiving the award.

NCA/NCF