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

SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE/ALEXANDRIA/LAKE CHARLES/MONROE - United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana David C. Joseph announced that the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs 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. The awards include $1,024,834 million to support public safety activities in the Western District of Louisiana.

“These public safety grants will give our local, state, and community partners additional resources to assist them in the fight against violent crime,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph. “I want to thank the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Program, for making these grants available to organizations within the Western District of Louisiana. Working together with our law enforcement and community partners, we are making Louisiana safer for its citizens.”

“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.

The following awards were made to organizations in the Western District of Louisiana:

BJA Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program – Local Awards

• City of Shreveport - $127,686
• City of Bossier City – $39,115
• City of Lake Charles - $44,309
• City of Opelousas - $17,834
• City of Natchitoches - $15,632
• Ouachita Parish - $127,351
• Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office - $72,222
• Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office - $82,155
• Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office - $36,553
• St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office - $13,477

OVC Law Enforcement-Based Victim Specialist Program

• Lafayette City Parish Consolidated Government - $448,500

BJA Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program – State Awards

• Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement - $3,169,999

Information about the programs and awards announced December 4, 2019, is available here: Public Safety Fact Sheet. 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.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Western District of Louisiana, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao-wdla.

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