Gang / Undocumented Immigrant Investigator and Law Enforcement Equipment Acquisition Project

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.

Dorchester County will use its Fiscal Year 2009 Recovery Act JAG Award to hire a seasoned law enforcement officer who will spend 100 percent of his time investigating gang and undocumented immigrant incidents, and towards purchasing related law enforcement training, equipment, and supplies for the investigator and the patrol unit assigned to the areas of high gang crime activity. The purpose of this program is to improve the investigation and reduce the number of crimes of gang and undocumented immigrant cases through increased resources, to improve coordination of the various agencies responsible for gang and undocumented immigrant cases, and to increase the number of officers with specialization in the areas of gangs and undocumented immigrants.

NCA/NCF