FY 11 JAG Local Solicitation

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (JAG) allows states and units of local government, including tribes, to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on their own state and local needs and conditions. Grant funds can be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice, including for any one or more of the following purpose areas: 1) law enforcement programs; 2) prosecution and court programs; 3) prevention and education programs; 4) corrections and community corrections programs; 5) drug treatment and enforcement programs; 6) planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs; and 7) crime victim and witness programs (other than compensation).

The disparate jurisdictions consisting of city of Albany and Albany County will use the FY 2011 JAG funds to improve public safety and reduce crime. The program provides services in which special police patrols, assigned specifically during school hours, actively seek students who are truant, identify those students, and transport them to the Truancy Center. The Truancy Abatement Program is a collaborative effort between the Albany Police Department, the City of Albany Department of Youth and Workforce Services, the Albany City School District, and the Albany County Probation Department. The primary goal of the Anti-Truancy Abatement Program is to encourage school participation by improving school attendance among students aged 7 to 16. The funding will assist the agencies in meeting those goals through staffing, equipment, and cooperative crime-reduction efforts. Strategies to be used include targeting chronic offenders, gang members, and violent crime offenders for enhanced supervision, investigation, and prosecution. Strategic responses also include improving information and intelligence gathering, analysis and dissemination; and improvements to evidence gathering and documentation in order to provide improved cases for criminal prosecutions. The grant funds will be utilized to provide police officer, detective, and supervisor staffing and equipment to support the initiatives as described in the budget narrative.

NCA/NCF