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.

Lafayette Parish, the city of Lafayette City, and the town of Broussard have been certified disparate and have agreed to share the funds allocated to them through the Recovery Act JAG Program. Lafayette Parish, in conjunction with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office, will use its share of the funds to increase public safety and law enforcement patrol through the hiring of three new patrol officers for the Sherriff's Team for Advanced Response (STAR) and the purchase of three new police cruisers. The city of Lafayette will use its funds to purchase and install in-car cameras for 75 of their marked police vehicles. The town of Broussard will use its funds to enhance the operations of the Broussard Police Department through the purchase of laptop computers. The new computers will allow officers to more efficiently track, data enter, and research information in the field.

NCA/NCF