Central Falls FY 2009 Recovery Act JAG

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 Central Falls, Central Falls Police Department (CFPD) will utilize its FY 2009 Recovery Act JAG funds to purchase equipment. Five police cruisers Twill be purchased from local dealerships, contributing to stabilizing the local economy. The new police vehicles will allow CFPD to update their fleet and remove older vehicles from service. The second type of equipment purchase will be 26 taser units. All divisions within the CFPD will receive taser Units. The CFPD police officers will utilize the taser units, a less than lethal option, to protect themselves against police officer assaults, which are rising in the City of Central Falls. CFPD will coordinate taser training for all police officers. The police cruiser and taser unit purchases will assist the CFPD with ensuring community and police officer safety.

NCA/NCF