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 Duluth will serve as the fiscal agent and disburse allocations of the Fiscal Year 2009 Recovery Act JAG award to St. Louis County and the cities Virginia, Hibbing, and Eveleth according to the agreement reached by the jurisdictions. The project objectives, shared by the jurisdictions, are to: enhance the ability of officers to perform their duties more safely and effectively; increase the efficiency of the law enforcement departments; and bring officers' knowledge bases up to 'best practices' standards for law enforcement. The Eveleth and Virginia Police Departments will use their allocations to purchase a police cruiser for each jurisdiction. The Hibbing Police Department will purchase equipment, supplies, and technology enhancements to improve their evidence collection, storage, and analysis and will upgrade their computers. The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office allocation will purchase tactical uniforms and ammunition and update their communications systems. The sheriff's office has also designated funds to support a community/law enforcement collaboration created to investigate child abuse. The Duluth Police Department will enhance crime scene investigations by purchasing essential supplies and equipment and providing training for staff. In addition, the department will purchase digital recording equipment.

NCA/NCF