Operations and Support Funding Sources
BJA: Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (Byrne Formula Grants). States may use formula funds to support a range of activities that could have an effect on terrorism and domestic preparedness. States may also request a waiver of the criminal justice records improvement set-aside requirement to use these reserved Byrne funds to respond to the demands placed on criminal justice system components by the September 11 terrorist attacks. Such funds are still subject to the terms and conditions of the Byrne Formula Grant Program and may also be used for any and all of the following purposes: developing and implementing anti-terrorism plans and training programs, purchasing equipment for local law enforcement anti-terrorism projects, improving community crime prevention and security, creating multijurisdictional task forces in response to organized crime, facilitating interagency and intelligence coordination, integrating criminal justice information systems, investigating and prosecuting money laundering and cybercrime, and improving DNA identification systems.
BJA: Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG). LLEBG directly funds units of local government to support projects that improve public safety.
OVC: Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Fund. OVC maintains an emergency reserve fund that can be used to respond to the needs of victims of terrorism and mass violence. OVC may supplement state victim compensation and assistance grants to enable state and local programs to respond when a jurisdiction cannot adequately provide needed services with its existing resources. OVC also may use the Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Fund to respond directly to terrorism victims and to develop training and technical assistance relative to terrorism victims.
Operations and Support Funding Hypotheticals
Can OJP funds be used to restore the operations of a law enforcement facility after disruption by a terrorist threat or attack?
Yes, under BJA LLEBG Program Purpose Areas #1 or #2, replacement of damaged law enforcement-related equipment or renovation expenses of up to 10 percent of project cost, if renovation is related to law enforcement equipment purchase and installation or security enhancement.
Can OJP funds be used to isolate the sick and for mass quarantines in the event of a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attack?
Yes, under BJA LLEBG Program Purpose Area #1, if isolation of the sick or mass quarantines become a function of law enforcement officers, funds may be used for hiring or paying overtime for law enforcement. However, should isolation of the sick or mass quarantines not be considered a basic law enforcement responsibility, these circumstances would not qualify for the use of LLEBG funds as presently proscribed under current statutes.
Can OJP funds be used for the creation of regional hazardous-material teams specializing in weapons of mass destruction?
Yes, under the LLEBG Program Purpose Area #5, if they are designed as multijurisdictional task forces with the involvement of a state or local law enforcement agency and have involved a representative from a federal law enforcement agency.
Can OJP funds be used to coordinate containment and removal of biological, chemical, radiological, explosive, or other hazardous materials in the event of a terrorist threat or attack involving such hazards and coordinate efforts to mitigate the effects of such an attack?
Yes, under the BJA LLEBG Program Purpose Area #1, for overtime expenses of law enforcement personnel involved in the event (e.g., site and personnel security and securing the crime scene). Funds also may be used to purchase equipment necessary to carry out these functions. See also BJA Byrne Formula Grant Program Purpose Area #7b.
Can OJP funds be used to build a laboratory for testing of chemical and biological agents?
No, BJA funds may not be used for construction purposes. However, BJA funds may be used to equip and staff the laboratory, and with some restrictions, BJA funds may be used to renovate an existing building. See LLEBG Program Purpose Area #2 and Byrne Formula Grant Program Purpose Area #26.
Can OJP funds be used to pay overtime for a regional task force comprising local police departments to operate a chemical/nuclear/biological sensor at a municipal airport to prevent the entry of terrorist materials and supplies?
Yes, under BJA LLEBG Program Purpose Area #1. Additionally, LLEBG Program Purpose Area #5 may support task forces in general provided there is federal involvement in task force activities, and under LLEBG Program Purpose Area #2, funds may be used to enhance security measures in and around facilities or locations considered by the local unit of government to be at risk for incidents of crime. See also BJA Byrne Formula Grant Program Purpose Area #7b.
Can OJP funds be used to train those licensed by the state Department of Public Health professionals to complete 1 hour of training each year on reporting of medical events and responding to the consequences of terrorism?
Yes, community and neighborhood programs that include health professionals may be established and trained under the BJA Byrne Formula Grant Program Purpose Area #4 and LLEBG Program Purpose Area #6.
Can OJP funds be used to support an undercover investigation of a local organization suspected of raising funds for terrorists?
Yes, under BJA LLEBG Program Purpose Area #1, to fund equipment and overtime, and under LLEBG Program Purpose Area #5, if the investigation is conducted by a multijurisdictional task force. Under LLEBG Program Purpose Area #5, funds may be used for confidential informants if a multijurisdictional task force carries out the investigation. Also see BJA Formula Grant Program Purpose Area #2.
Can OJP funds be used to support citizen anticrime patrols of a chemical fertilizer manufacturing plant in a rural part of the state but near an interstate highway?
Yes, under BJA Byrne Formula Grant Program Purpose Area #4. Also see BJA LLEBG Program Purpose Area #2, enhancing security measures in and around a facility or location that the grant recipient considers at special risk for incidents of crime, and LLEBG Program Purpose Area #6, by establishing a cooperative crime prevention program involving both community residents and law enforcement personnel to control, detect, or investigate crime or for prosecuting criminals.
Can OJP funds be used by a local/state agency to provide food, housing, clothing, travel, and other emergency needs to terrorism victims?
Yes, under a Crisis Response Grant from OVC's Anti-Terrorism and Emergency Assistance Program for Terrorism and Mass Violence Crimes. This grant is designed to provide resources to help victims and to reduce symptoms of trauma immediately following the terrorism or mass violence event. Also see OVC's Victims of Crime Act Victim Compensation Grant Program.
Can OJP funds be used to assist a terrorism victim who is recovering from an attack and can no longer return to his/her previous profession (due to loss of sight, limb, etc.)?
Yes, under a Consequence Management Grant from OVC's Anti-Terrorism and Emergency Assistance Program for Terrorism and Mass Violence Crimes. This grant is designed to provide supplemental resources to help victims adapt to the trauma event and to restore the victims' sense of equilibrium.
Can OJP funds be used by a state Crime Victim Compensation Agency to compensate a survivor who lost a relative to a terrorist attack and incurred expenses as a result, e.g., funeral/memorial expenses, mental health therapy related to the crime, long-distance phone calls to relatives and loved ones, etc.?
Yes, under a Crime Victim Compensation Grant from OVC's Anti-Terrorism and Emergency Assistance Program for Terrorism and Mass Violence Crimes. This grant is designed to provide supplemental funding to a state crime victim compensation program to reimburse victims for out-of-pocket expenses related to their victimization.
For Further Information on Operations and Support
Related Links:
BJA FY 2001 Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Fact Sheet (FY2001)
BJA Byrne Formula Purpose Areas
BJA FY 2001 Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG) Program
BJA LLEBG Purpose Areas
OVC publications
Questions?
AskBJA@ojp.usdoj.gov
AskOVC@ojp.usdoj.gov
