Recovery Act JAG 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 Pueblo and Pueblo County will share the Recovery Act JAG award and use the funds to continue coordinated efforts in the areas of DARE programs, emergency management systems, community safety, and public service events. The Pueblo Police Department and the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office have also recently partnered with the Colorado Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice, Anti-Gang and Gun Violence Reduction Initiatives to combat gang activities and gun violations. These projects are designed to help law enforcement provide a safe community with reduced crime, promote economic development, and bring additional jobs to Pueblo. Grant funds will be used to purchase equipment that will assist law enforcement to expand its capacity to collect critical data, share information among agencies, and effectively investigate crimes. To better execute these projects, the city and county will purchase equipment to include: in-car video cameras with critical event servers; a logo digital x-ray system; EOD-9 full coverage bomb suits; laptop computers; a records management system; mobile license plate readers; audio equipment to record narcotics interviews; digital voice recorders; trackers for narcotics enforcement; gang enforcement equipment; scanners to increase security for staff computers; an automatic external defibrillator; 16 AR-15 carbine rifles; handheld mobile trace units; and security management equipment for the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office detention facility.

NCA/NCF