Past Funding

Approximately 2.2 million people were incarcerated in federal, state, and local prisons and jails in 2014, a rate of 1 out of every 110 adults. Many prison populations remain near all-time high levels and face crowding or resource challenges, and state spending on corrections has remained high. Over the last 25 years, state corrections expenditures have increased exponentially from $12 billion in 1988 to more than $55 billion estimated for 2014, a significant increase even accounting for inflation.

The FY 2015 Smart Supervision Program seeks to improve supervision success rates and reduce crime, which would in turn reduce admissions to prisons and jails and save taxpayer dollars. Funds can be used to implement evidence-based supervision strategies and to develop innovative strategies to improve outcomes for probationers.

There are a multiple states, counties, cities, and tribes that are interested in implementing Swift, Certain, and Fair (SCF) models of supervision with offenders in the community. This interest has grown out of the potential promise that these SCF models have shown in effectively reducing recidivism and preventing crime.

Funding through this program will be used to assist in defraying the costs associated with postconviction DNA testing in cases of violent felony offenses (as defined by State law) in which actual innocence might be demonstrated.

The Second Chance Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-199) provides a comprehensive response to the increasing number of incarcerated adults and juveniles who are released from prison, jail, and juvenile residential facilities and returning to communities. There are currently over 2.2 million individuals serving time in our federal and state prisons, and millions of people cycling through tribal and local jails every year . Ninety-five percent of all people incarcerated today will eventually be released and will return to communities.

The program is targeted to receive application from organizations to develop and implement new and innovative strategies that better enable local criminal justice systems to prevent and respond to emerging and chronic crime problems that affect many communities in the United States. Proposals will be aimed at addressing a gap in the current base of knowledge about responding to and or preventing crime and be developed or implemented in a way that allows other communities or organizations to learn from and potentially replicate the approach.

The Intellectual Property Enforcement Program (IPEP), administered by BJA, is designed to provide national support and improve the capacity of state, local, and tribal criminal justice systems to address IP criminal enforcement, including prosecution, prevention, training, and technical assistance.

BJA's Smart Prosecution Initiative is designed to promote effective data-driven, research-based approaches to prosecution and prosecutor-led justice systems innovations and reforms. The Smart Prosecution model builds off of the lessons learned from BJA's Smart Suite of crime fighting programs. Smart Prosecution will seek to pair an operational, results focused researcher with a prosecutor's office to develop data-driven solutions which create effective, efficient, and just prosecution strategies which will ultimately improve public safety.

One of BJA's guiding principles is to promote a fair criminal justice system. For the past two decdes, the American justice system has been confronted with a steady stream of post-conviction exonerations, and the issue of wrongful conviction has emerged as a critical area for examination. BJA is committed to assisting the state and local law enforcement entities in adopting evidence-based practices and assessing the necessary technologies to reduce the likelihood of a wrongful conviction (to include wrongful arrests and prosecutions) occurring from the outset of each criminal investigation.

The Justice Information Sharing Training and Technical Assistance Program solicits applications to provide critical TTA services to criminal justice practitioners in order to improve their implementation of evidence-based JIS practices and technologies. The solicitation employs a multi-category approach, with grants targeted to support particular areas of need. Applicants will compete for funding within those categories, and any eligible applicant may apply for more than one category.

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) provides that a state whose governor does not certify full compliance with the PREA National Standards, which became effective on August 20, 2012, is subject to the loss of five percent of any DOJ grant funds that it would otherwise receive for prison purposes, unless the governor submits an assurance that such five percent will be used only for the purpose of enabling the state to achieve and certify full compliance with the standards in future years 42 U.S.C. 15607(c).

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (JAG), administered by BJA and authorized under Public Law 109-162 (see page 136), is the leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. The JAG Program 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.

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (JAG), administered by BJA and authorized under Public Law 109-162 (see page 136), is the leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. The JAG Program 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.

The Justice Information Sharing Solutions Implementation Program is designed to promote innovation in the field to advance the state of the art in technology and information sharing that improves the criminal justice system.

This program will support the ongoing/continuing efforts of the National Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Resource Center. The mission of the resource center is to promote and facilitate the implementation of the National PREA Standards through strategic support for the PREA audit function, and the provision of training and technical assistance to state, local, and tribal jurisdictions working to fulfill their requirements under the PREA standards.