Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2009, $453,904)
The Recovery Act Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program (Byrne Competitive Program) will help communities improve the capacity of state and local justice systems and provide for national support efforts including training and technical assistance programs strategically targeted to address local needs. This competitive grant announcement focuses on initiatives in eight areas: 1) preventing and reducing violent crime through community-based data-driven approaches; 2) providing funding for neighborhood-based probation and parole officers; 3) reducing mortgage fraud and crime related to vacant properties; 4) hiring of civilian support personnel in law enforcement (training staff, analysts, dispatchers, etc.); 5) enhancing forensic and crime scene investigations; 6) improving resources and services for victims of crime; 7) supporting problem-solving courts; and 8) national training and technical assistance partnerships.
Under category 4, the city of Winston-Salem, in conjunction with the Winston-Salem Police Department (WSPD), will use the grant award to hire civilian law enforcement staff. In the past two years, the overall crime rate has risen more than 11 percent for Winston-Salem. With this significant change, law enforcement responsibilities have increased for WSPD and consequently for the law enforcement support staff, particularly those providing crime analysis and technical support for the agency. The goal of the project is to reduce the overall crime rate in the area. In order to accomplish this goal, the city of Winston-Salem and WSPD will hire three additional crime analysts and one additional network administrator. The four additional staff positions will improve the ratio of support staff to sworn officers. With an improved ratio, support staff can provide greater in-depth analysis, more frequent analysis, and faster problem resolution for sworn personnel. The additional network administrator position will provide essential technical support within the growing agency. The funds will also go towards the equipment necessary for the new hires, such as computers and software.
CA/NCF