Justice Department Awards Over $77 Million To Improve Public Safety And Serve Crime Victims In Alaska Native Communities

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that within the last 4 months, the Department of Justice has awarded over $77 million in grants in Alaska. Many of those grants were awarded to Alaska Native communities and tribal organizations to improve public safety, serve victims of crime, combat violence against women, and support youth programs.    

“American Indian and Alaska Native communities experience rates of violent crime and domestic abuse that are among the highest in the nation,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “The awards announced today underscore the Department of Justice’s deep commitment to improving public safety in tribal communities throughout the United States. This administration will continue to work closely with our tribal partners to guarantee that they have the resources they need to combat violence and bring criminals to justice.”

“The Department of Justice’s grant announcements shows the Department’s understanding of the challenging public safety issues facing Alaska, particularly the rural parts of the state.  The grant funds distributed to rural Alaska also demonstrate Attorney General Barr’s continued commitment to Alaska native communities,” said U. S. Attorney Schroder.

Alaska received a significant share of this nationwide grant funding. Alaska Native communities and other tribal designees received over $34.5 million through the Tribal Victim Set Aside Program and $13.5 million through the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), a streamlined application for tribal-specific grant programs. Notably, the Department of Justice awarded:

• Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, Inc. $3,880,000
• Alaska Native Justice Center $2,878,987
• Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska $2,984,129
• Fairbanks Native Association $1,314,033
• Kawerak, Inc. $1,229,928
• Ketchikan Indian Community was awarded $1,186,770
• Maniilaq Association $3,683,871
• Sitka Tribe of Alaska $1.453,513
• Tanana Chiefs Conference $3,682,829
   

CTAS funding helps tribes develop and strengthen their justice systems’ response to crime, while expanding services to meet their communities’ public safety needs. The awards cover 10 purpose areas: public safety and community policing; justice systems planning; alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; children’s justice act partnerships; services for victims of crime; violence against women; juvenile justice; violent crime reduction; and tribal youth programs. On September 30, 2020, DOJ awarded public safety and community policing grants to the following organizations, adding 18 additional officers to rural Alaska:

FY20 COPS Hiring Program (CHP) Award: $2.1 Million

On June 2, 2020, funding in the amount of $2,100,476 was awarded to multiple law enforcement agencies in Alaska, which allows those agencies to hire a combined total of 19 officers to help keep our communities safe. Out of the 19 officers, 18 will be located in rural Alaska. Specifically, 14 officers will be certified Alaska Police Officers, three will be certified VPSOs, and two will be TPOs.  This was part of DOJ’s announcement awarding nearly $400 million in grant funding nationwide through the COPS Hiring Program (CHP).  

Funding to Alaska also included:

• $8.1 million in sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking program grants   
• $5.3 million in awards for Coronavirus emergency supplemental funding
• $4.5 million in VOCA awards 
• $2.8 million to the State of Alaska for training and technical assistance, violence against women programming, sex offender registration, juvenile justice and corrections    
• $2.3 million in reentry and recidivism reduction grants
• $1.7 million in Human Trafficking victim services grants
• Nearly $1 million for enhancing victim services for elder fraud and abuse

For more information on the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (“CTAS”) read the fact sheet here: here.

A full listing of all Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside Program awards is available here.

Additional information about FY 2020 grant awards made by the Office of Justice Programs can be found online at the OJP Awards Data Webpage

This announcement is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.