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 Bristol will use its Fiscal Year 2009 Recovery Act JAG award in the amount of $61,038 to enhance its police department's overall law enforcement and criminal justice capabilities. This will be accomplished through the acquisition of traditional law enforcement equipment to control, detect, or investigate crime or to prosecute criminals. The city of Bristol Police Department will purchase exercise equipment for officer fitness, 10 SWAT rifles, five radar units, one laptop with software upgrade for the Accident Reconstruction Team, one HD camcorder for crime scene investigations, one high-speed document scanner, and two digital cameras. This additional equipment will increase the Criminal Investigations Division's ability to identify, collect, document, and preserve evidence for court, increasing successful prosecutions and enabling timely retrieval of information related to previous offenses committed by suspects.

NCA/NCF