FY 2009 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 Rockford and Winnebago County, as disparate jurisdictions, will share the Fiscal Year 2009 Reecovery Act JAG award. The city of Rockford will serve as the fiscal agent and use their share of the funds to purchase one police cruiser for the Field Services Bureau, software for the Investigative Services Bureau, bicycles for the Community Service Flexible Patrols, ticket reporting software to be used in squad cars, accreditation software to assist in the certification for law enforcement agencies, in-car video systems for the Traffic Unit, and law enforcement safety equipment/training to support process improvement efforts for staff which align with the city's values. The Winnebago County Sheriff's Department will use their share of the funds to purchase one police cruiser, one police Ford van, and various law enforcement equipment.

NCA/NCF