States may elect to use funding through the Byrne Formula Grant program for a number of law enforcement-related purposes. These may include task forces to integrate and coordinate the activities of federal, state, and local drug law enforcement agencies; programs to combat property crimes, white collar crime, and drug trafficking; and enhancements to the operational effectiveness of police departments. For information about Byrne subgrant funding for public safety projects, contact your state Byrne Agency representative, listed in the Online Resource Guide. In addition, subgrant funding for public safety issues relating to youth crime prevention and juvenile justice may be available through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's formula funding programs. State Juvenile Justice offices are also listed in the Online Resource Guide.

Funding Opportunities

OJP's grant programs support a wide array of programs and research to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement. Among OJP's grants are the following:

• The Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program provides formula-based funding to units of local government to help reduce crime and improve public safety. Each year, BJA contacts local governments that are eligible to apply for direct awards under the program. Award amounts are determined by each local government's crime rate, as reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting System. Local governments that qualify for awards over $10,000 receive direct awards from BJA. Each state receives LLEBG funds that can be distributed to jurisdictions that are not eligible for direct awards. The funding can be used to hire or pay overtime to police officers, establish task forces to fight multijurisdictional crime, purchase basic law enforcement equipment, and a number of other purpose areas.
• OJP's Office of State and Local Domestic Preparedness Support (OSLDPS) provides equipment and training to help state and local law enforcement, health professionals, and other agencies prepare for acts of terrorism involving chemical or biological weapons. OSLDPS awards grants to state and local jurisdictions to purchase counterterrorism equipment, and trains police, firefighters, and emergency service personnel at the Center for Domestic Preparedness at Fort McClellan, Alabama.
• BJA, in partnership with the Defense Department, supports the Local Law Enforcement Equipment Procurement Program. This program allows units of local government to purchase new law enforcement equipment at reduced prices through federal procurement channels.
• The Department of Defense (DOD) administers a program, commonly known as the 1033 program, that transfers surplus DOD property to government agencies for law enforcement use. For more information about this program, contact the DOD's Law Enforcement Support Office at 1-800/532-9946.
• Through the Law Enforcement Family Support Program, NIJ funds demonstration and training projects to research the effects of stress on law enforcement personnel and their families.
• Through its Open Solicitation, BJA promotes innovative initiatives, particularly in areas that are not addressed by other federal grant programs. Practitioners have the opportunity to submit concept papers for funding of new ideas that address specific issues. BJA will fund those concepts that appear promising and support the demonstration, evaluation, and replication of these innovations through training and technical assistance.
• OJJDP's Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant Program (JAIBG) provides states with funds to promote greater accountability in the juvenile justice system. The funds must be expended in accordance with 12 legislatively mandated purpose areas, including hiring judges, probation officers, prosecutors and public defenders and establishing court-based programs that target young firearms offenders.
• Funding through OJJDP's discretionary grant program supports such initiatives as programs to address the problem of serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders and community-based programs to combat gang violence.
• OJP's community prosecution effort aims to ensure public safety at the local level. Funds allocated to this program support hiring local prosecutors, who will focus on gun violence prosecutions within their jurisdictions, as well as the continuation of OJP's community prosecution program. The program helps to build stronger relationships between local prosecutors and the U.S. Attorneys. More information on the Community Prosecution initiative is available on the BJA Website at www.usdoj.gov/bja.

Detailed information about discretionary funding opportunities is published annually in the OJP Program Plan. Copies are available by calling the DOJ Response Center at 1-800/421-6770. Many programs also publish notices of funding available in the Federal Register, and OJJDP is required by statute to publish its proposed program plan.

Training and Technical Assistance Opportunities

OJP and its bureaus offer a broad program of training and technical assistance in a number of specialized areas. Examples of OJP's training activities include the following:

• BJA administers a number of training and technical assistance programs to assist law enforcement in dealing with such issues as line-of-duty deaths, responding to low-income and minority families, commanding narcotics task forces, and investigating and dismantling clandestine drug-manufacturing laboratories.
• Law Enforcement Training and Technical Assistance for State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, with support from OJJDP, equips law enforcement to better prevent and respond to serious juvenile crime. Training is provided on a regional basis and is tailored to meet specific local technical assistance requests.
• Another OJJDP-funded program, Training in Cultural Differences for Law Enforcement and Juvenile Justice Officers, is intended to improve the effectiveness of police and other juvenile justice agency personnel who work with minority group suspects and offenders.
• The Jimmy Ryce Memorial Law Enforcement Training Center at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children offers week-long training sessions to law enforcement officers to learn about techniques for recovering missing and abducted children. OJJDP funding supports the Center directly, as well as sponsoring officers who attend training programs.

Detailed information about OJP training initiatives is published each year in the OJP Program Plan. To obtain a copy of the program plan, call the Department of Justice Response Center at 1-800/421-6770.

Additional training and technical assistance programs are added throughout the year. To learn more about upcoming programs, you may wish to contact the appropriate grant program's point of contact in your state, which is listed in the Online Resource Guide. Training and technical assistance information is also updated regularly on each bureau and office's homepage. All homepages are accessible through the OJP homepage at www.ojp.usdoj.gov.

Information Sources

• The National White Collar Crime Center, with funding through BJA, provides a national support system for the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of multijurisdictional economic crimes. The center provides investigative support services to assist in the fight against economic crime and operates a national training and research institute focusing on economic crime issues. For more information, call the Department of Justice Response Center at 1-800/421-6770.
• The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) helps people of all ages learn to protect themselves, their homes, and families from crime; produces crime prevention materials for children and adults; and offers materials, training and technical assistance to a variety of community-wide initiatives. BJA supports NCPC's National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign. This national program reaches out to children, their families, public and private service providers, and elected officials in a comprehensive effort to control and prevent crime, violence, and substance abuse. For information on NCPC's products and services, call 202/466-6272 or visit the NCPC Website at www.weprevent.org.

For More Information

The National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) serves as OJP's clearinghouse for information and publications on criminal and juvenile justice related topics, including law enforcement and public safety. By calling NCJRS toll-free at 1-800/688-4252, you can speak with an information specialist who can conduct individualized research and provide you with copies of OJP publications. NCJRS also has a homepage on the World Wide Web at www.ncjrs.org. The site contains the full text of most OJP publications in a searchable format, as well as links to other relevant sites.

For more information, call OJP's Office of Congressional and Public Affairs at 202/307-0703 or the Department of Justice Response Center at 1-800/421-6770.

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