FY 2009 Recovery Act Justice Assistance Grant 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.

Berks County, the city of Reading, the borough of West Reading, and the townships of Bern, Cumru, Exeter, and Muhlenberg will apply Recovery Act JAG funding towards multiple initiatives aimed at enhancing criminal justice services provided to the community. Specifically, the county will support police officer overtime associated with compliance checks of adult and juvenile probationers during non-traditional hours. The city of Reading will fund the salaries of a criminal investigator, a technology manager, and overtime for police officers engaged in problem-oriented policing projects. The borough of West Reading will purchase an officer mounted video system. Bern Township will purchase computers and associated hardware for its police department. The township of Cumru will upgrade the emergency lighting on seven police cruisers. The township of Exeter will purchase a new patrol vehicle for its police department. Remaining funds will be used by the township of Muhlenberg for a computerized link analysis program, a computerized crime mapping program, a projector for police training and presentations, and computer forensics equipment. For administrative purposes, the city of Reading will serve as the fiscal agent for this award.

NCA/NCF