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 town of Barre will use its Fiscal Year 2009 Recovery Act JAG award to upgrade the CAD system for the Barre Police Department. This upgrade will allow the civilian dispatchers to immediately dispatch officers to various calls for service and enhance the officer's ability to interact with the dispatch log and functions system. The dispatch center currently works with EMS, fire, police, Department of Public Works, and Board of Health. Therefore, another way of communicating, through networked computers, would enable the officers to interact with the dispatchers while the radio is used by another agency. They will also use these funds to continue to schedule shifts/patrols in high-crime areas in an effort to reduce crime. The town goal is to technologically update the police department and to reduce crime by implementing various types of patrols in specified high-crime areas within the community.

NCA/NCF