Information Technology (IT) infrastructure Upgrade, Traffic Enhancement, and Gang Suppression 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 town of West Springfield will use Recovery Act JAG funds to support the West Springfield Police Department (WPD) Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure Upgrade, Traffic Enhancement, and Gang Suppression Project. The goals of the project are to upgrade the network infrastructure, purchase a new motorcycle, and fund overtime that will enable WPD to put more manpower on the street for specific target areas. The WPD will purchase new computers, servers, and a backup system for the network. This purchase will enable the WPD to improve their IT infrastructure. The WPD will also purchase a new motorcycle for patrol purposes. The final purchase will be a data traffic counter that will assist with enhancing traffic statistics and contribute to increasing the ability to target drug trafficking and gangs in specific areas of town. The overtime patrols will address the identified target areas.

NCA/NCF