Southwest Border Rural Law Enforcement Training and Technical Assistance

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Southwest Border (SWB) Rural Law Enforcement Training and Technical Assistance Grant is an innovative new program designed to provide resources and training and technical assistance (TTA) to rural law enforcement agencies along or near the southwest border of the United States that support their efforts to reduce violent crime, including drug-related crime and human trafficking. TTA support will not only provide TTA to the successful award recipients under the BJA SWB Rural Law Enforcement Information Sharing and Interdiction Assistance Grants solicitation, but also to southwest border agencies that were not selected for awards under that solicitation. The intent is to support them in sharing information with other agencies, provide technical assistance so they can participate in projects across the southern border, and assist in projects/initiatives that may be unique to their agency or region. This technical assistance may involve the provision of specialized equipment for which the TTA provider must ensure that the proper training is provided.

The Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR), in close collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), will deliver TTA, hardware/software, and other specialized equipment to small, rural law enforcement agencies in SWB (including award recipients of BJA’s SWB Rural Law Enforcement Information Sharing and Interdiction Assistance Grants and other SWB agencies), assisting them in their crime prevention response and reduction efforts.

Phase One will focus on identifying agency needs and determining current or emerging resources to address those needs. Phase Two will provide a process that will enable agencies to request TTA and resources and receive assistance (such as the delivery of crime and intelligence analysis training, the procurement of equipment or technology, support to enhance real-time crime centers and intelligence centers, technical assistance to successfully implement newly received resources, or webinars on current systems available for use). Phase Three will evaluate the TTA provided and the impact of this project on reducing crime in the region and will address the sustainability of outcomes.

CA/NCF