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.

Marion County, through the Marion County Sheriff's Office will utilize its Fiscal Year 2009 Recovery Act JAG award to purchase fingerprint technology and in-car video cameras that will enhance their crime fighting and community policing capabilities. This will enable the Marion County Sheriff's Office to maximize its human resources while delivering high-quality service. The fingerprint technology will allow deputies to scan the fingerprints of suspects and send the prints instantly to automated fingerprint identification databases. Results will be received in seconds rather than days. Through integration with other local, state, and federal databases, crime fighting capabilities and community policing efforts will be improved by providing quick, reliable, and relevant access to record information. This technology will not only assist deputies in positively identifying suspects but will also enable deputies to identify subjects of unsolved crimes, and ensure that individuals identified as known or suspected criminals are not released when they are detained for criminal violations. The in-car camera technology will promote transparency, ultimately strengthening public safety while promoting trust and accountability between deputies and the community they serve. This technology will also serve as a critical tool in gathering evidence for investigative purposes and helping to reduce police wrongdoing lawsuits that lack clear evidence. In-car cameras provide visual and audio evidence useful when it comes to traffic stops, pursuits, and DUI offenses. The camera systems will be useful tools with regard to police pursuits as well, automatically activating when speed reaches 70 mph and recording up to the previous 60 seconds before the speed activation occurred.

NCA/NCF