Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2009, $654,981)
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 Portsmouth will use the Recovery Act JAG award to purchase essential law enforcement equipment and upgrades for the Portsmouth Police Department (PPD). PPD will purchase a patrol vehicle equipped with handcuffs, leg shackles, a gas mask, shield, and baton for crowd control situations. They will upgrade a VoIP satellite system for the mobile command vehicle to handle high volume phone calls without delays and maintain an adequate phone system in event of cellular failure. PPD will upgrade aerial photography for police planning operations, crime pattern documentation, court cases, and as base imagery for the crime analysis system. They will purchase mobile data computers to increase officers' time and safety, fixed radios to equip special unit police vehicles and enhance officer safety during tactical operations, a document imaging system to provide large storage space and allow officers and prosecutors easy access to case files via the system, a crime scene measurement system for crash investigations and processing crime scenes, and tasers to provide a safer tool to protect citizens when dealing with potentially hazardous or violent offenders. The Recovery Act JAG funds will allow PPD to safely, effectively, and efficiently protect and serve the general public.
NCA/NCF