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 city of Richmond Heights will use their Recovery Act JAG funds to purchase an Automated License Plate Recognition System. This system will decrease the work load on the already over-burdened court system by giving prosecutors hard evidence to use when cases come to court. In addition, the system will help maximize the use of officer time by reducing the time it typically takes to run a license plate. Staff time will be maximized, thereby decreasing the amount of lay-offs and staff reductions due to current economic conditions. The city of Richmond Heights will implement this system to better serve and protect the citizens of the St. Louis area. The system will result in a reduction of unsolved cases of stolen vehicles and the apprehension of more serious criminals. The city will purchase the system from the vendor within 120 days of the receipt of funds.

NCA/NCF