Justice Department Announces More Than $376 Million in Awards to Promote Public Safety

The Department of Justice recently announced 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.

Of that funding, $993,366 will support public safety activities in the Northern District of Oklahoma. In total, state and local partners in Oklahoma will received $7,265,727 to support public safety. The awards were made by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP). 

“Crime and violence hold families, friends and neighborhoods hostage, and they rip communities apart,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “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 awards announced 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.

“Programs that support law enforcement, investigations, early prevention and victim services are so critical to building healthy neighborhoods for all Oklahomans,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “The more than $7 million in public safety grants will be put to good use in communities across the state, including the cities of Fairland, Tulsa, and Broken Arrow in the Northern District of Oklahoma.”

     The following grants were awarded in the Northern District of Oklahoma

OVC Law Enforcement-Based Victim Specialist Program

• City of Fairland- $179,508
• City of Tulsa- $439,676

Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program

• City of Tulsa/Tulsa County- $361,702
• City of Broken Arrow- $12,480

Other Oklahoma cities also receiving funding through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program include:

• City of Ardmore/Carter County- $18,002
• City of Lawton- $70,518
• City of Muskogee- $35,839
• City of Norman/Cleveland County- $21,509
• City of Oklahoma City- $449,229
• Ponca City- $ 15,131
• City of Shawnee- $25,816

Other funding awarded included:

Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program- state awards

• Oklahoma District Attorneys Council- $2,720,423

BJA National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative

• State of Oklahoma Office of Attorney General- $2,398,302

OJJDP Supporting Effective Interventions for Adolescent Sex Offenders and Youth with Sexual Behavioral Problems Program

• The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center- $517,592: Training and Technical Assistance

Information about the programs and awards announced is available here. For more information about OJP awards, visit the OJP Awards Data webpage.

The Office of Justice Programs, directed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan, provides federal leadership, grants, training and technical assistance, and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.