National Assessment of State and Local Court Security

The National Initiatives: Improving Criminal Courts Program is funded under the Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program (Byrne Competitive Program), the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, and the Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program. Authorized by Pub. L. No. 112-10, div. B, secs. 1101-1104 and (Pub. L. No. 111-117, 123 Stat. 3034, 3134, the Byrne Competitive Program, among other purposes, helps communities improve the functioning and capacity of state and local criminal justice systems and provides for national support efforts including training and technical assistance programs strategically targeted to address local needs.

The National Initiatives: Improving Criminal Courts Program, administered by the Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Assistance, helps improve criminal justice systems. This program supports funding for national, state, local, and tribal programs/efforts, such as training and technical assistance, to address the needs of state and local justice systems and communities. The FY 2011 program will focus on funding efforts in five major categories.

The National Center for State Courts, in partnership with the Center for Judicial and Executive Security, will assess the current state of affairs regarding courthouse and courtroom security, identify needs to improve security, and match available resources to the identified gaps and needs. Specifically, the grantee will conduct the following activities: 1. Assessing state and national planning and research that has been completed to date, to include a high-level review of current physical and staff security approaches, and policies and procedures used by state, local, and tribal courts to promote security; 2. Identifying the most critical needs these courts have for courthouse and courtroom security; 3. Documenting current available resources so that courts can use what is available to address the most critical issues or threats and; 4. Identifying strategic gaps in available assistance that may be later addressed through other funding sources. Furthermore, the grantee will produce a comprehensive report, based on thorough research relying on information uniquely available to the project team's organizations, supplemented by an extensive on-line survey and additional research sources.

CA/NCF