Targeting Resources for Crime Control, Reduction, and Prevention

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, Josephine County, in conjunction with the Josephine County Sheriff Department, will use the grant award to hire civilian law enforcement personnel. The goal of this project is to increase the availability of sworn officers by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of patrol and investigations, ultimately reducing and preventing crime in Josephine County. In order to accomplish this goal, Josephine County, along with the Sheriff Department, will use the grant funds to employ two full-time civilian employees to improve patrol and investigative unit's access to high quality and timely information and intelligence. Currently the Sheriff's Office has accumulated a three year backlog in case entry of offense reports and has had essentially no significant intelligence analysis available since 2007. As funding and staff have dwindled, crime has grown. Calls-for-service, officer initiated activity, and administrative calls have increased by nearly 45 percent over the past five years. The jobs being created are a dispatcher and a crime/intelligence analyst. These two jobs will improve incident record entry practices to make data more available for analysis, re-establish Josephine County's participation in at least two regional taskforces, increase proactive activities by patrol units, and increase the targeting of sworn officers on criminal activity hotspots. The remaining funds will go to cover costs associated with attending conferences and two mandated Department of Justice meetings.

CA/NCF