Justice Department Announces More Than 367 Million In Awards To Promote Public Safety

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, NY – The Department of Justice today announced that it has awarded more than $376,000,000 in grant funding to enhance state, local and tribal law enforcement operations and reinforce public safety efforts in jurisdictions across the United States. $9,780,780 will support public safety activities in and around the Western District of New York. The awards were made by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs.

“One of the top priorities of my Office is enhancing the collaborative relationship we have with all levels of law enforcement, including local, state, and federal, as well as our community partners,” stated James P. Kennedy, Jr., United States Attorney for the Western District of New York. “When investigative agencies at all levels are equipped with the tools they need to conduct the most thorough and comprehensive investigations, that leads to the most effective prosecutions. And when our community partners are properly funded, they too play a vital role in making our community safer. These public safety grants will do just that, give our law enforcement and community partners what they need to get the job done.” 

“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 Western District of New York recipients include:

• The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, which will receive $8,576,883 to allow New York State and local governments within the State to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on their own state and local needs and conditions;
• The Rochester Police Department Victim and Family Services and Monroe County Probation NightWatch, which will receive $163,554;
• The City of Niagara Falls, which will receive $44,114, for Community Liaison and Interoperable Handheld Radios;
• The City of Jamestown, which will receive $17,460 for the purchase of a Mobile Speed Trailer and Alco-Sensor;
• The City of Buffalo, Erie County, and Town of Cheektowaga, which will receive $236,151 for collaborative crime fighting efforts; 
• The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office Victim Specialist Program, which will receive $267,618; and
• The Cayuga County Youth with Sexual Behavior Problems and Adolescent Sex Offender program, which will be receiving $475,000.

The awards announced today 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.

For more information about OJP awards, visit https://www.ojp.gov/funding/Explore/OJPAwardData.htm.

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.

# # # #