City of Lynn Economic Stimulus Community Policing and Technical Assistance 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.

The city of Lynn, along with the Lynn Police Department (LPD), will utilize funding to support The Economic Stimulus, Community Policing, and Technical Assistance Project. The primary goal of this project will be to hire two data clerks for a three year period and summer workers to assist with gang prevention efforts. The first activity will be to provide funding for data entry positions. Funding these positions will allow officers to focus on policing activities instead of data entry. The second activity will be to hire summer youth workers. The LPD will add additional positions to the Summer Jobs program for gang-involved and at-risk youth. This program targets at-risk youth and provides them with supervised summer jobs doing neighborhood cleanups and landscaping projects on public property. The third activity will be to purchase additional data storage that will improve LPD data management. In addition the LPD will purchase four console mobile data terminals. The LPD will establish eight wi-fi access points at city-owned property (for example, schools, fire stations, or other locations) where internet access is already available. The purpose will be to keep patrol units in their sectors and available for dispatch, instead of coming into headquarters to write reports, therefore improving patrol unit efficiency. The LPD will also provide communications equipment for the Lynn District Court Adult Probation initiatives for probation officers performing home visits on pre-trial and convicted probationers. The LPD's support is necessary in maintaining probation officer safety and security while conducting home and street interventions.

NCA/NCF