NEWS RELEASE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
John L. Brownlee United States Attorney Pat Grisetti Law Enforcement Coordinator |
BB&T Building 310 1st Street, S.W., Room 906 Roanoke, Virginia 24011 (540) 857-2250 FAX (540) 857-2614 |
October 26, 2007
TOWN OF BIG STONE GAP RECEIVES GRANT
United States Attorney John L. Brownlee announced today that the town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia, has been awarded $ 330,000 in project grant monies by the U.S. Department of Justice (US DOJ), Bureau of Justice Assistance, under the FY 2007 Edward Byrne Memorial Byrne Discretionary Grants Program (Statutory Authority: Pub. L. No. 110-5, embedded secs. 101-104; Pub L. No. 109-108, 119 Stat. 2290, 2230; 42 USC 3760-3762 as in effect on Sept 30, 2006 (FY 2007 “Byrne Discretionary”).
The Town of Big Stone Gap will manage the 2007 Byrne Discretionary Category One Targeting Violent Crime Initiative award to fund a Task Force comprised of the City of Norton, the Town of Big Stone Gap, and the Counties of Dickenson, Lee, Scott, and Wise. The major problem for the Task Force area is gangs, including the distribution of illegal narcotics in the area. Several of the law enforcement strategies are to record criminal complaints, conduct investigations, execute search warrants, arrest suspects, and maintain a database for intelligence. The grant funds will support tactical training; efficient processing of crime scenes; overtime for officers to investigate gangs and illegal drug activities; and an office for the Task Force.
For further details, please contact the Office of Communications, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, at (202) 307-0703.