Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2009, $1,065,466)
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 Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners will use the Recovery Act JAG funds to support the Gwinnett County in its efforts to equip the existing personnel to be more effective. Gwinnett is experiencing an increase in crime and a decrease in revenue from businesses and construction. The grant funds will be used to provide information and communications infrastructure that will make the Police, Sheriff, District Attorney, and Indigent Defense Services of the Administrative Office of the Courts more cost-efficient and effective. Furthermore, the funds will be used to purchase taser equipment for Corrections' inmate and officers' safety. The Police will obtain an On-Line (web-based) Reporting System to encourage more community crime reporting allowing more officers on patrol; and upgrade the Mobile COM/AVL tracking to enhance the investigative and intelligence capacity of every officer's transactions and to reduce fuel consumption. The Administrative Office of the Court's Indigent Defense Program will be able to serve more indigent offenders by better management of data and invoicing. Corrections Department will employ tasers for the protection of the inmates and officers, and to lessen violent incidents' duration and frequency.
NCA/NCF