NEWARK, NJ — The Department of Justice announced Dec. 4 that it has awarded more than $376 million in grant funding to enhance state, local and tribal law enforcement operations and reinforce public safety efforts in jurisdictions across the United States, including $4,561,569 to support public safety activities in the District of New Jersey. The awards were made by the department’s Office of Justice Programs.
“These awards provide substantial resources to support important public safety initiatives sponsored by our state and local law enforcement partners,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito, District of New Jersey, said. “This kind of support from the Department of Justice encourages greater cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement, as we work together to protect the people of New Jersey.”
The awards support an array of crime-fighting initiatives, including the quarter-billion-dollar Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grants Program, which funds public safety efforts in 929 state, local and tribal jurisdictions. Funding also supports sex offender registration and notification, law enforcement–based victim services, the testing of sexual assault kits, and programs designed to address youth with sexual behavioral problems. Other awards will focus on wrongful convictions, intellectual property enforcement, innovative prosecution strategies and the safety and effectiveness of corrections systems.
“Crime and violence hold families, friends and neighborhoods hostage, and they rip communities apart,” OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney Gen. Katharine Sullivan said. “These programs help restore the health and safety of crime-ravaged communities by supporting prevention activities, aiding in the apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators, facilitating appropriate sentencing and adjudication, and providing communities and their residents the means for recovery and healing.”
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office received $350,345 from the Bureau of Justice Assistnace’s Intellectual Property Enforcement Program, which aims to protect public health, safety, and the economy from counterfeit goods and product piracy.
Local-level awards from the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program went to: Newark Police Department for $434,882; Union County for $167,387; city of Passaic for $180,339; Asbury Park for $51,346; Mercer County for $131,756; city of Camden for $208,291; Vineland for $82,671; Lakewood for $15,572; Atlantic City for $68,318; and Perth Amboy for $86,689.
The Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program’s State Award in New Jersey went to the New Jersey Division of Law & Public Safety for $3,817,827.
And the New Jersey Department of Corrections received $246,146 from the BJA’s Implementing the Prison Rape Elimination Act Standards, Protecting Inmates, and Safeguarding Communities Program.
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