Regional Approach to Law Enforcement Technology Services

The Congressionally Recommended Awards Program, authorized by the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117), helps improve the functioning of the criminal justice system, prevent or combat juvenile delinquency, and/or assist victims of crime (other than compensation). Funds should be used for the projects recommended by Congress, in the amounts specified in the joint explanatory statement incorporated by reference into Pub. L. 111-117, and generally consistent with one or more of the following statutory purposes: improving the functioning of the criminal justice system, preventing or combating juvenile delinquency, or assisting victims of crime (other than compensation). Each of these purposes is framed using language drawn, respectively, from the former Byrne discretionary statute, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, the Victims of Crime Act, and the Violence Against Women Act. This project is authorized and funded through a line item in the FY 2010 Congressional Budget and by the joint explanatory statement that is incorporated by reference into the FY2010 Department of Justice Appropriations Act.

City of Salem Police Department will use the FY 2010 grant funds to support the Regional Approach to Law Enforcement Technology Services project. The Police Departments of the Cities of Salem and Beverly, the Towns of Danvers, Hamilton and Wenham, and the Salem State College Campus Police have agreed to form a collaboration for a minimum of two years aimed at sharing resources in several technology-based support services used by police department in solving crimes, addressing crime trends and re-focusing resources, and training personnel. Through the use of grant funding it is the intention of the North Shore Police Tech Collaboration (NSPTC) to share both equipment and the support services personnel to reduce individual department costs while enhancing the solvability rate of the involved communities. To meet the goals, the funds will be used to: (1) Reduce the financial impact on individual police departments by sharing the costs of technological support personnel and equipment; (2) improve the collective Collaboration's crime solvability rate with Part 1 Crimes and crimes perpetrated through various forms of technology, which includes individual agencies and the Collaboration in its entirety; (3) through the collective use of the certified/expert personnel in the area of fingerprint technology, computer /video forensics, crime analysis, and handheld device forensics will devote a combined 3120 hours dedicated to solving crimes and obtaining successful prosecutions in all UCR Part 1 Index crimes and other crimes committed through the use of technological devices available on the market; and, to (4) utilize equipment to process and retrieve evidence to solve crimes and provide for successful prosecutions. The grantee will procure and install the Firing Range Retrievable Target system, install the Firing Range Simulation Program Equipment, and lastly, obtain the training for instructors to utilize system and prepare their own situation based scenarios as needed for their department. The overall benefit of the project strategy is to share resources, both personnel and equipment, in order to make the best use of the limited funding available to public safety organizations in the area, and to improve our ability to collectively solve crimes, specifically, Part 1 Index crimes and those perpetrated through various available technology.

NCA/NCF