FY 2009 Recovery Act Justice Assistance Grant 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 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 New Mexico Department of Public Safety will utilize their Fiscal Year 2009 Recovery Act Justice Assistance Grant award funding to improve the functioning of New Mexico's criminal justice system, for the purpose of reducing violent crime and reducing the sale of illicit drugs. The Department of Public Safety will focus on preserving and creating jobs and promoting economic recovery, identifying and reporting drug and gang trends in New Mexico, updating the comprehensive statewide Drug and Gang Policy, and developing strategies to effectively identify, prevent, and respond to networks supporting acts of terrorism.

The New Mexico Department of Public Safety will continue to fund programs that encourage and facilitate the collection, maintenance, and reporting of uniform crime data in addition to programs that increase and facilitate intelligence sharing. The department will focus on preserving and creating jobs and promoting an economic resurgence in those areas where resources are limited and that demonstrate the greatest need.

NCA/NCF