TITLE: Bureau of Justice Assistance Annual Report Fiscal Year 1996.
Series: BJA Annual Report
Published: October 1997
Author: Bureau of Justice Assistance
Subject: Criminal Justice System 
46 pages
92,889 bytes

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U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Assistance

Bureau of Justice Assistance
Annual Report
Fiscal Year 1996

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To the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
and the President pro-tempore of the Senate:

Pursuant to The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 as amended by the Anti-Drug
Abuse Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-690) in
accordance with Section 522, I am pleased to
transmit the Bureau of Justice Assistance 
Annual Report for the Fiscal Year 1996.

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy E. Gist, Director, Bureau of Justice
Assistance

Washington, DC
October 1997

------------------------------

Table of Contents

I. Moving Toward the 21st Century    

II. About the Bureau of Justice Assistance
    
III. Addressing America's Needs
      
Preventing Crime in America

Comprehensive Communities: The Key to Crime
Prevention 
  
Law Enforcement Initiatives Are Making a Difference

Improving the Effectiveness and Efficiency of the
Criminal Justice System    

Changing the Course of Corrections    
            
Special Programs  
            
Investing in State and Local Jurisdictions
            
Technical Assistance and Evaluation: Creating a
Model Criminal Justice System    

IV. Appendix    

TABLE 1: FY 1996 Byrne Formula Grant Program
Awards, Total Active Subgrants, and Total Active
Subgrant Awards           

TABLE 2: FY 1996 Byrne Discretionary Awards (Byrne
and Other Funding), Total Active Grants, and Total
Active Grant Awards     

BJA Legislative Purpose Areas    

TABLE 3: FY 1996 Byrne Formula Subgrant Totals by
States and Purpose Areas   

TABLE 4: FY 1996 Discretionary Awards (Byrne and
Other Funding) Program Descriptions and Funding
Amounts    

TABLE 5: FY 1996 Local Law Enforcement Block Grants
by States and Purpose Area          

TABLE 6:    Local Law Enforcement Block Grants by
State and State Agencies   

1996 BJA-Funded Publications     

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Moving Toward the 21st Century

The Bureau of Justice Assistance is charting its
future by analyzing the past. What was once a
criminal justice system solely focused on arrests
and incarceration now is becoming a comprehensive
community justice system. America no longer can
prevent and control crime by incarceration alone.
Communities are taking back their streets through
community policing, community prosecution,
community courts, and community corrections, and
BJA is at the forefront of this movement. An
increasing number of BJA-funded programs are
comprehensive in nature and involve the community.

FY 1996 was a crucial year for BJA and America's
criminal justice system. America is approaching a
new century, and the policies and programs
implemented now and in the next few years will
determine our success in the next century. BJA
recognizes this historic time and is shaping its
programs and goals to improve the criminal justice
system and ensure that America's children can live
safely in their neighborhoods.

BJA-funded projects do make a difference. During
the past decade BJA has implemented a number of
vital projects. However, BJA funding for these
projects is short term. A 1995 study revealed that
73 percent of those projects that were intended to
continue were still running 3 to 4 years after
Federal funding ceased. State and local units of
government picked up the cost of these projects
started with BJA funds. With this excellent record
of continued funding, BJA projects will affect
communities throughout the Nation and into the
future. 

The end of the 20th century provides America with
unprecedented challenges. In no part 
of our society is this more true than in the
criminal justice system. BJA is meeting these
challenges by helping to create a safe Nation and
an improved criminal justice system.

------------------------------

"As we move toward the next millennium, we must
apply crime control and crime prevention knowledge
more effectively to create a safe and secure Nation
for future generations. By implementing
comprehensive, community justice programs and
strategies, BJA is helping to create a better
America for the 21st century, a Nation of
communities mobilized to keep violence off its
streets."

Nancy Gist, 
Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance

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BUILDING THE BRIDGE TO THE 21ST CENTURY 
PLANS AND PROGRESS

o In FY 1996, the Public Safety Officers' Benefits
(PSOB) Program office began laying the ground-work
for the Federal Law Enforcement Dependents
Assistance (FLEDA) Program. Once fully operational
in late FY 1997 or early FY 1998, FLEDA will
provide financial assistance for higher education
to the spouses and children of Federal law
enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

o In FY 1997, a national symposium on sentencing
will be presented by BJA, the State Justice
Institute, and the National Institute of Justice to
enable judges, legislators, prosecutors, defense
counsel, corrections officials, police, and
community representatives to discuss and share
experiences and perspectives on current sentencing
policy.

o BJA will continue to fund firearms trafficking
programs, gang organized narcotics programs, and
homicide initiatives.

o BJA will expand Boys and Girls Clubs, school-
based drug-prevention programs, and other community
crime prevention measures.

o BJA will continue to fund community justice,
community prosecution, community courts, and
corrections options programs.

o BJA will continue to publish and disseminate an
abundance of information on a wide range of vital
criminal justice issues, including: 

o Crime Prevention and Community Policing

o Urban Street Gang Enforcement

o Stopping Hate Crime

o Effective Sanctions That Fit the Budget

o Addressing Community Gang Problems
 
o Community Corrections

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About the Bureau of Justice Assistance

Moving toward the next millennium, the Bureau of
Justice Assistance (BJA) is assisting a record
number of State and local criminal justice agencies
by supporting them with funds, training, technical
assistance, evaluation, and comprehensive strategic
planning. Since its inception, BJA has worked with
State and local governments, community
organizations, and Federal agencies to reduce and
prevent crime, violence, and drug abuse and to help
improve the criminal justice system. 

The mission of BJA is to provide leadership and
assistance in support of local criminal justice
strategies to achieve strong neighborhoods and safe
communities. In Fiscal Year 1996, BJA focused its
efforts on the following goals:

o Promoting effective, innovative crime control and
prevention strategies.

o Demonstrating and promoting the replication of
effective crime control programs that support
public-private partnerships, planning, and criminal
justice system improvement.

o Leveraging and efficiently administering
available resources.

o Providing a dynamic work environment that fosters
and encourages excellence, innovation, and
responsiveness.

BJA's Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law
Enforcement Assistance Program is unique because it
is a Federal grant program tied to the criminal
justice system with congressional mandates
dedicated to State and local jurisdictions. The
Byrne Program is a major source of Federal funds
devoted to fighting crime on the local level.
Through it, BJA works directly with State and local
criminal justice practitioners to develop
innovative and effective programs to fight violent
crime and drug abuse. The two main components of
the Byrne Program are the Byrne Formula and
Discretionary Grant Programs.

Each year Congress appropriates funds to BJA for
distribution to State and local criminal justice
systems. For FY 1996 Congress appropriated $475
million for The Byrne Formula Grant Program. The
amount distributed to each state is determined
primarily by the population of the State. Use of
these Byrne Formula funds must fall into approved
legislative purpose areas (see the Appendix). 

However, States may determine the amount to be
applied to specific purpose areas, depending on
crime patterns in their area. In addition to
funding these State-level programs, BJA-
administered Byrne Formula funds annually support
an average of 6,600 local programs such as
community policing initiatives, multijurisdictional
task forces, and drug prevention programs.

The Byrne Discretionary Grant Program provides BJA
with the flexibility to appropriate funds to
problem-specific areas. Awards are made for
programs that develop new practices in crime
prevention and drug control, training, technical
assistance, and national-scope programs. BJA
supports the replication of these innovative
programs to make the criminal justice system
stronger and more comprehensive. In FY 1996, BJA
awarded more than $60 million in Byrne
Discretionary and other funds to support more than
650 programs.

BJA is an essential part of addressing the most
pressing challenges facing the Nation's criminal
justice system. In FY 1996, BJA implemented
comprehensive approaches to crime through
neighborhood-based programs with active citizen
involvement, violence prevention and control
initiatives, and programs that not only improved
the functioning of the criminal justice system but
also focused on enhancing the system's ability to
remove serious and violent offenders from our
communities. BJA programs emphasize the importance
of multiagency coordination--at all levels of
government--in addressing prevention, intervention,
enforcement, adjudication, and corrections.

In FY 1996, BJA-funded programs made communities
safer and neighborhoods more resistant to crime,
increased citizen involvement in justice and
community crime prevention, and improved the
effectiveness of the criminal justice system. BJA
also managed $1.59 billion in grant activity,
representing almost 7,500 active projects and
programs in the 50 States and 6 Territories.

By providing the best resources and training to
State and local criminal justice agencies, BJA has
been in the forefront of creating comprehensive
community-based crime prevention and crime control
measures. Neighborhoods in which these innovative
approaches have been implemented are yielding the
results. In Neighborhood Crime Watch communities,
people feel safe to walk at night; in D.A.R.E.
communities, children are learning the dangers of
drugs; in community policing neighborhoods,
citizens are working with police officers to
prevent and solve crimes; and in Comprehensive
Communities Programs, entire cities are seeing
dramatic reductions in crime through local
community efforts.

After years of escalating violence on the streets
of America's cities, the tide is changing. Criminal
activity is beginning to feel the impact of
effective, innovative, and comprehensive crime
control strategies taking root in communities
across the country. Since 1992, the Nation's
overall crime rate has decreased by 7 percent. BJA
continues to support, innovate, evaluate, and
replicate effective programs. BJA-funded
initiatives are a team effort, with Federal, State,
and local agencies working together to rid America
of crime and violence and to restore law and order
in the Nation's neighborhoods and communities.

------------------------------

FY 1996 BJA FUNDS APPROPRIATED 
FOR ASSISTANCE TO STATE AND LOCAL 
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES
(IN $ MILLIONS)

Byrne Formula Grants 475.00

Byrne Discretionary 60.00

Earmarked and transferred to Weed and Seed    
28.50 
    
Earmarked for D.A.R.E. 1.75

Earmarked for Boys and Girls Clubs of America   
4.35     

Earmarked for National Crime Prevention Council    
3.00
     
Earmarked for National Judicial College 1.00

Earmarked for SEARCH 1.00

Earmarked for Metro Area Drug Enforcement Task
Force 2.00

Earmarked for Olympic Games Law Enforcement    
4.00     

Earmarked and transferred to the FBI CASTLE Program 
4.90 

Special Programs 555.35

Regional Information Sharing Systems 14.50

National White Collar Crime Center 3.85

State Criminal Alien Assistance Program 500.00

Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program 30.50

Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Program .50

Church Arson Prevention Program 6.00

Local Law Enforcement Block Grants 503.00

Earmarked for D.C - Metro Police Department.   
15.00     

Earmarked for Boys and Girls Clubs of America   
11.00     

Earmarked for Drug Courts 15.00

Earmarked for NIJ Technology 20.00

Total  $1,593,350,000.00

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FY 1996: PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

o BJA automated its application and award process,
significantly reducing paperwork and increasing
productivity.
 
o BJA set efficiency records in disseminating
grants:

o BJA's Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program
distributed nearly $400 million to almost 3,000
local jurisdictions and $24 million to 56 States,
Territories, and the District of Columbia in a
record 6 months. 

o BJA distributed more than $2.7 million in Church
Arson Prevention Grants to 587 county governments
in only 2 weeks.

o BJA and the National Crime Prevention Council
received the prestigious Vice President's Hammer
Award for their efforts at the 1996 Olympic Games 
in Atlanta.

o As part of BJA's Comprehensive Communities
Program, the membership of the East Bay Public
Safety Corridor Partnership grew to include 27
communities in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area.
 
o The success of Boston's Comprehensive Communities
Program, including a reduction in homicides of
young people by 71 percent, led to recognition by
the President.

o The BJA State Criminal Alien Assistance Program
extended its eligibility to local communities that
house illegal aliens in their jails. Formerly, the
program reimbursed only the States for
incarcerating illegal aliens. 

o The newly created BJA Comprehensive Homicide
Initiative has helped to reduce the homicide rate
in Richmond, California, by 50 percent since 1995.
The Initiative's strategies target the underlying
causes of homicide such as gang violence, domestic
violence, violence associated with drug activity,
and the availability of illegal firearms.

------------------------------

Addressing America's Needs

In 1994 Congress stood up to crime and passed the
most sweeping crime bill in America's history, the
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, and
BJA has played a key role in carrying out its
provisions. Most Americans believe that serious
violent offenders need to be incarcerated. However,
when the issues are broadly presented, Americans
are willing to consider incarceration alternatives,
such as intensive probation, house arrest,
substance abuse treatment, and restitution for
appropriate offenders. According to a recent
national survey commissioned by the American
Correctional Association, three out of four
Americans believe a balanced approach of
prevention, punishment, and treatment is better at
controlling and reducing crime than is imprisonment
alone. BJA has helped support that balanced
approach. In FY 1996, BJA began full implementation
of the philosophy and programs that comprise a
comprehensive community justice system. That system
includes the following elements:

o Community Crime Prevention

o Community Policing

o Community Prosecution

o Community Courts

o Community Corrections

Any successful State or local crime prevention and
control strategy must engage its ultimate
beneficiaries: the people living in the community.
BJA-funded community-based strategies address
neighborhood problems by involving community
leaders and residents in the planning and delivery
of services. All of BJA's programs, including the
Comprehensive Communities Program, the National
Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign, the Community
Justice Technical Assistance Program, and the
Tribal Strategies Against Violence Program, support
partnerships with Federal, State, and local
governments; private organizations; and foundations
that develop and achieve solutions addressing
problems concerning crime and quality of life. 

Some comprehensive program approaches supported by
BJA are problem-specific. For example, the
Comprehensive Gang Initiative demonstrates a model
approach to gang issues that carefully balances
prevention, intervention, and suppression
strategies. The model is designed to bring together
cooperative and coordinated efforts by the police,
other criminal justice agencies, human services
providers, community agencies, and residents.

Other programs receiving BJA funds, such as the
Community-Based Prosecution Initiative, are not
problem-specific but bring together the community,
the prosecutor's office, and the local courts to
solve problems, providing speedier access to
justice and facilitating reintegration of offenders
in neighborhoods.

In FY 1996, an important BJA priority addressed a
serious unmet need in local criminal justice
systems by supporting programs to correct
deficiencies in the delivery of criminal justice
services. BJA emphasized the involvement of key
stakeholders in the development of new initiatives,
including community organizations and local, State,
and Federal agencies.

BJA supports programs that promote balance and
fairness in law enforcement and the criminal
justice system. By supporting programs that feature
community participation as a cornerstone, BJA seeks
to educate and engage citizens, thereby improving
confidence in the criminal justice system and
ultimately preventing crime.


Through an effective combination of crime
prevention funding, comprehensive community
programs, law enforcement initiatives, adjudication
programs, corrections initiatives, special
programs, Local Law Enforcement Block Grants, and
research, evaluation, and training, BJA is playing
a critical role in controlling and preventing crime
in America.

------------------------------

"If we reweave the fabric of community through
community courts, through community justice,
through community caring, through community
involvement, we can make a difference."

Attorney General
Janet Reno

------------------------------

"The concept of community justice is unmistakably 
powerful and it is at the core of a vision that is 
undeniably hopeful."

Laurie Robinson,
Assistant Attorney General

------------------------------

Preventing Crime in America

A crucial part of reducing crime in America is
preventing crime from occurring in the first place.
BJA's commitment to crime prevention is
unsurpassed. Over the past decade, BJA funding to
States and local communities increased by 85
percent --money that supported hundreds of new
projects. BJA has created an all-encompassing
approach to crime prevention to involve everyone
from Federal, State, and local governments to
schools and civic organizations, from private and
public sectors to families and religious
organizations. In FY 1996, BJA focused on creating
strong partnerships among key stakeholders in
individual communities and using these resources to
develop comprehensive crime prevention initiatives.

Only BJA's most enduring and successful
initiatives, the National Citizens' Crime
Prevention Campaign and its most visible symbol,
McGruff the Crime Dog, educates people of all ages
about how they can prevent crime and build
community. The campaign has reached millions of
people through public service announcements; crime,
violence, and drug use prevention materials; and
outreach and information on the World Wide Web.
Through funding, technical assistance, and
training, the campaign helps individuals, community
and civic organizations; as well as Federal, State,
and local government agencies build better, safer,
and more caring communities. Through community
action, the campaign has helped to decrease crime
in schools, neighborhoods, and entire cities.

Through the McGruff campaign, BJA provided
unprecedented support for crime prevention
education as part of the 1996 Olympic Games in
Atlanta. BJA funding helped produce seven posters
(of which more than 2,000 sets were distributed), 
a crime prevention tips brochure in three languages
for visitors (more than 600,000 distributed), and a
brochure in three languages for athletes and other
members of the Olympic family (approximately 17,000
distributed). The efforts of BJA, the Immigration
and Naturalization Service (INS), and the National
Crime Prevention Council were recognized with a
prestigious Vice President's Hammer Award for
efficiency in government for work coordinating
crime prevention services as part of the National
Olympic Planning Group. 

Another successful, long-term community action
program is National Night Out. This initiative
began in 1989 as a one-night-a-year (first Tuesday
in August) community gathering. It has since
evolved into a yearlong program involving more than
28 million people, including law enforcement and
government agencies, businesses, education
institutions, community organizations, citizens,
and youth in more than 8,800 communities in all 50
States, U.S. Territories, and U.S. military bases
around the world. On August 6, 1996, nearly 30
million people celebrated the 13th Annual National
Night Out with block parties, parades, rallies, and
other events.

In FY 1996, BJA also supported crime and violence
prevention initiatives that targeted young people.
BJA is building partnerships with the youth of
America through education. One of the most highly
visible BJA education initiatives is Drug Abuse
Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.), the Nation's
predominant school-based drug abuse and violence
prevention program. It teaches students in
kindergarten through senior high school lessons on
drugs, violence, and gang resistance skills in
classes conducted by specially trained law
enforcement officers.

Another proven program is the Boys & Girls Clubs of
America (B&G Clubs). In FY 1996, BJA awarded B&G
Clubs more than $15 million to establish and
enhance B&G Clubs in public housing and other
community settings where there is a concentration
of poverty, crime, and violence. B&G Clubs serve
2.6 million school-age boys and girls in 1,950
clubs by providing a safe haven for children. The
clubs offer mentoring and youth activities,
educational support, and a comprehensive violence
prevention initiative. An evaluation of B&G Clubs
in public housing confirmed that the clubs had a
significant impact on reducing juvenile crime
(crime rates were 13 percent lower in projects with
B&G Clubs), on reducing drug activity (22 percent
lower), and on reducing the presence of crack
cocaine (25 percent lower). 

A common objective in all of BJA's crime prevention
initiatives is addressing the needs of communities.
Through the Tribal Strategies Against Violence
(TSAV) Initiative, for example, BJA is helping to
empower Native American communities' increased
concern about crime and violence on reservations.
TSAV is a Federal-tribal partnership designed to
develop and implement reservationwide strategies to
reduce crime, violence, and drug abuse. The program
focuses on forming centralized planning teams
comprised of service providers whose goal is to
develop short-term and long-term strategies that
encompass community policing and prosecution,
domestic abuse, juvenile delinquency, and drug
prevention education. In FY 1996, TSAV was expanded
to seven tribes and served more than 325,000 Native
Americans as well as their neighbors in surrounding
communities. 

Through the next millennium, BJA will continue to
lead Federal efforts to develop and support
comprehensive crime prevention initiatives. BJA
will continue to work with Federal, State, and
local agencies and community organizations to
develop effective crime prevention programs and
build on the extraordinary success of the past
decade.

------------------------------

" Working together, we can solve any problem and
meet any challenge as long as we each do our part:
government, business, families, religious
institutions, communities, schools and especially
young people themselves. Together, we can create
safer streets in our towns and cities and a
brighter, more secure future for our children."

President Bill Clinton, 
National Night Out, 1996

------------------------------

"We're getting these kids while we can still do
something to help them--before they cross the line
into serious crime."

Bob Monahan,
Boston's Boys & Girls Clubs of America Chief
Operating Officer

------------------------------

FY 1996 SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE 
NATIONAL CITIZENS' CRIME PREVENTION CAMPAIGN

o More than 50,000 Crime Prevention Month 1996 
kits were distributed to law enforcement agencies, 
schools, libraries, community groups, local 
government leaders, and others.

o More than 824 million educational materials were 
reproduced and distributed by local groups.

o More than $54 million in public service advertising 
was donated to crime prevention messages, a more than 
80 to 1 return on the Federal investment, reaching 
more than 90 percent of the U.S. population.

o Nearly 50,000 adults called 800-WE-PREVENT to get 
free, detailed information on community crime 
prevention initiatives.

o McGruff and Scruff violence and drug prevention 
materials reached almost 500,000 of America's youngest 
citizens in just 1 year.

o Educational packets were provided to elementary 
school-age children in 71,000 public and private 
schools and to 14,000 law enforcement agencies.

o A landmark compendium of crime prevention strategies, 
350 Tested Strategies To Prevent Crime, was published 
and distributed nationwide.

------------------------------   

Comprehensive Communities: The Key to Crime
Prevention

One of the most urgent domestic problems facing
America is violence. For more than 30 years,
America's justice system has tried a number of
crime prevention methods and ideologies.
Individually these programs have had limited
success. In 1993 BJA took a new approach by
combining those crime prevention concepts that were
most effective to create the Comprehensive
Communities Program (CCP). BJA realized that the
only way to make progress against violence was to
marshal the efforts of communities, the private
sector, and Federal, State, and local governments.
CCP seeks to catalyze the development of such
partnerships. 

CCP strategies call for improving existing
collaboratives and partnerships as well as
developing new, innovative strategies. As such,
these programs coordinate with customized projects
and more comprehensive approaches within each
community. For example, four of the CCP sites also
are sites for the Pulling America's Communities
Together (PACT) initiative. CCP sites draw on the
experience and collaboratives developed under
comprehensive, community-based PACT efforts in
Atlanta, Denver, Omaha, and Washington, D.C.

Under CCP, communities facing high rates of drug
abuse and violent crime develop 
a comprehensive strategy for crime and drug control
that requires police and other city agencies to
work in partnership with the community. During the
past 3 years, the 16 CCP sites have distinguished
themselves from other BJA grant programs in their
demonstration of how multiagency, public/private,
government/community collaboratives, and
partnerships can work together to formulate and
carry out jurisdictionwide crime strategies to
produce safer and healthier communities. 

CCP communities range from small, single-government
jurisdictions such as Hartford, Connecticut;
Columbia, South Carolina; Omaha, Nebraska;
Wilmington, Delaware; Gary, Indiana; Salt Lake
City, Utah; and Wichita, Kansas; to larger urban
cities such as Baltimore, Maryland; Boston,
Massachusetts; Phoenix, Arizona; Seattle,
Washington; Washington D.C.; and Fort Worth, Texas;
to multi-jurisdictional communities such as
metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia; metropolitan Denver,
Colorado; and the East Bay Public Safety Corridor
Partnership in the San Francisco Bay Area of
California.

The Boston CCP has been nationally recognized and
offers valuable lessons for other CCP sites as well
as for communities across the Nation. Crafted by
more than 400 residents, police officers, and city
agency representatives, Boston's Strategic Plan for
Neighborhood Policing serves as the architecture
for integrating community policing and community
mobilization. It includes strategies for the city's
16 community districts and is tailored to reflect
the public safety and quality-of-life needs of each
district. In 1996 homicides in Boston dropped to a
30-year low, robberies to a 26-year low, and armed
assaults to a 10-year low. Homicides by young
people dropped by two-thirds; murders and assaults
by juveniles with firearms almost disappeared.

The Metro Atlanta CCP operates a variety of youth
violence prevention, intervention, and enforcement
strategies, including the highly regarded Teens,
Crime, and the Community (TCC) program, an
education and crime prevention curriculum aimed at
reducing the high level of teen victimization and
counteracting high-risk factors leading to juvenile
delinquency. In addition, Atlanta has created a
Youth Empowerment Grants Program that empowers
young people to create their own solutions to the
daily problems that affect their well-being. 

The Baltimore CCP is a partner in the development
of a comprehensive initiative that provides
recreational, educational, and other positive
alternatives for youth in four communities that are
coordinated by a resident-developed strategy. A
community organizer supervises the activities of
coordinators who work to develop youth leadership,
help youth fulfill the community service hours
required of all Maryland high school students, and
encourage development of entrepreneurial skills and
economic development projects. 

Each summer the Metro Denver PACT/CCP supports a
six-county Safe Summer Program, which includes a
youth-staffed hot line for recreational and
employment opportunities. The number for the hot
line is distributed throughout six counties on
wallet-sized cards. Another six-county strategy
involves providing $500 to $2,000 line officer
grants for community policing projects, with at
least 80 percent of such grants including a youth
component. The Safe Summer Program and the Line
Officer Grant Program have been recognized within
the Metro Denver area as contributing significantly
to reducing summer youth violence over the past
several years.

The Fort Worth CCP administers a community-based
criminal justice plan developed by the Citizens
Crime Commission of Tarrant County, the Fort Worth
Independent School District, nonprofit
organizations, law enforcement agencies, and
numerous other agencies. A local service
organization, Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention,
Inc., facilitates collaboration among the public
schools, the B&G Clubs, and other agencies to
reduce teen pregnancy. The Comin' Up Gang
Intervention Program, a program of the B&G Clubs 
of Greater Fort Worth, provides a variety 
of needs-based services and activities that
positively impact the lives of youth involved in
gangs. 

The Phoenix CCP has designed its youth strategy to
focus on increasing the levels of community
knowledge, input, and involvement that are critical
to reducing youth gangs and violence. More than
6,000 youth have participated in a local program
Community Effort to Abate Street (C.E.A.S.)
Violence, an antiviolence initiative that enlists
parents, teachers, community members, and business
people to teach youth how their choices impact
their lives, families, and communities.
 
The Seattle CCP addresses youth violence through a
wide range of collaborative prevention,
intervention, and enforcement efforts, including
the Seattle Police Department's Family and Youth
Protection Bureau and the Seattle Team for Youth
Program. The Seattle Police Department's Gang Unit
interacts with youth through the School Emphasis
Team, Night Proactive Squads, and Investigations
Squad. In addition, detectives from the Seattle
Team for Youth and caseworkers from the Department
of Health and Human Services work with families,
schools, and community members to provide
counseling and alternatives for at-risk youth
involved in violent or gang activity. 

Central to the success of CCP is that once
comprehensive crime strategies are implemented,
they must be institutionalized in order for
communities to reap the long-term benefits. To do
this, CCP works to sustain the innovative
partnerships between public and private
organizations, governments and citizens,
individuals and associations, and for-profit and
not-for-profit groups by training and technical
assistance available to communities with
comprehensive strategies.

In FY 1996, BJA helped CCP sites develop strategies
to sustain their accomplishments, especially the
partnerships and collaboratives established to
support continued strategic and community-based
crime initiatives. By developing a model
sustainment plan for effective initiatives, BJA has
made an impact on crime and violence for years to
come. During FY 1997, BJA will continue to provide
technical assistance and training support for CCP
sustainment efforts.

------------------------------

" We know that if this can be done in Boston, it
can be done in every community, in every
neighborhood of every size in the 
United States."

President Bill Clinton, 
announcing that his juvenile crime control bill is
modeled after Boston's Comprehensive Communities
Program.

------------------------------

"This is just a smarter approach to the problem of
juvenile violence, and it is showing results."

Jeremy Travis,
Director, National Institute of Justice
------------------------------

BOSTON'S CCP EFFORTS PAY OFF

o No juvenile homicides occurred in Boston in 1996.

o From July 1995 through 1996, no youth under age
17 was killed by a firearm.

o The number of young people age 24 and younger
killed with a firearm declined 65 percent from 1995
to 1996.

o Homicides of young people age 24 and under are
down 71 percent as compared to 1995.

o Gang-related violence fell by 70 percent in 1996.

o Aggravated assaults with firearms are down 23
percent compared to 1995 and are down 55 percent
compared to Boston's crisis year of 1990.

------------------------------

Law Enforcement Initiatives Are Making a Difference

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's)
Uniform Crime Report and the Bureau of Justice
Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey
reveal that both overall crime rates and violent
crime rates declined in 1996. For the past 4 years,
the criminal justice system has installed an
effective combination of crime control and
prevention, and BJA has been a primary force in the
development and implementation of these crime
reduction strategies. In FY 1996, BJA's focus on a
comprehensive community justice system helped
establish effective law enforcement initiatives
through community mobilization and community
policing.

Two of the biggest problems plaguing America's
communities today are drugs and guns. According to
the FBI, nearly one-third of violent crimes in the
United States is firearms related. In FY 1996,
through Byrne Discretionary Grants, BJA funded
firearm initiatives, such as licensee compliance
programs, firearms trafficking training and
support, firearms investigative task force
projects, and the FBI's ballistic imaging automated
examination system, that helped remove 114,300
weapons from the Nation's streets. In specific
communities, the results have been even more
dramatic.


New York City: Prior to the Federal Firearms
Licensee Compliance program, only 29 of the 950
Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs) in New York City
were in compliance with local laws. The firearms
task force has been effective in discouraging
unqualified applicants. For example, of the 245 new
applications received during the program, 234
withdrew, 5 were disapproved, 5 were approved, and
1 was pending investigation. Of the 473 renewal
applications received, 347 were abandoned, 62 were
approved, 22 were disapproved, and 7 were still
under investigation. The program also has been
effective in reducing the total number of FFLs. In
1991 there were 952 FFLs in New York City. By 1996
that number had been reduced to 259.

Gary, Indiana: Violent crime in Gary, Indiana, is
increasing at an alarming rate. Last year, Gary had
the highest per capita murder rate in the United
States. BJA provided the city's Violent Crime Task
Force with $112,000 to target, investigate, and
prosecute individuals committing violent crimes
with firearms in and around the city. Since the
inception of the grant in 1994, 130 firearms have
been seized, 98 investigations have been initiated,
and 44 arrests have been made.

Richmond, Virginia: A Firearms Investigative Task
Force (FITF) was funded in Richmond in response to
evidence that Virginia had become the primary
source of guns used in crimes committed in New York
City and Washington, D.C., and in response to the
growing concern about violent and drug-related
crime in Virginia. Since the program's creation in
1993, FITF has investigated 1,215 firearms
violations, made 431 arrests, obtained 129
convictions (with many still pending in Federal
court), seized 397 firearms, coordinated 333
firearms traces, provided assistance to 
the Virginia Department of State Police and to
other State and local agencies, and gathered
valuable intelligence on inter/intrastate illegal
firearms violations.

West Virginia: In South Charleston, the West
Virginia State Police continued the operations of
the Firearms Violations Task Force in response to a
significant rise in violent crime and illegal
firearms trafficking in West Virginia. A comparison
between the first and second years of project
activity revealed a 70 percent increase in
intelligence reports, an 84 percent increase in
dealer contacts, a 43 percent increase in firearms
seized or confiscated, and a 75 percent increase in
persons arrested.

In addition to BJA's law enforcement efforts to
prevent firearms-related violence, the agency also
focuses its resources on controlling and preventing
illegal drug activity. Through the Byrne Formula
Program, BJA's drug enforcement initiatives
contributed to the seizure of 379 tons of cocaine
and 3,650 tons of marijuana. For every dollar of
these funds invested in fighting drug trafficking,
more than $730 in illegal drugs has been seized
before reaching America's neighborhoods.

BJA's law enforcement initiatives consistently
demonstrate successful results because BJA
collaborates with a wide range of Federal, State,
and local agencies and national law enforcement
constituent organizations. Because crime fighting
is a team effort, BJA continues to work with the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Drug
Enforcement Administration, the Police Executive
Research Forum, the International Association of
Chiefs of Police, the FBI, and local and State law
enforcement agencies. 

In FY 1996 BJA provided direct technical assistance
and training to more than 220 jurisdictions
throughout the country. Byrne Formula Grants fund
all 56 States and U.S. Territories, with more than
950 interdiction projects and task forces. These
activities are essential to crime reduction. In
Arlington, Virginia, for example, the Metropolitan
Area Drug Enforcement Task Force was earmarked $2
million to continue the successful operations of
local law enforcement agencies investigating
illegal drug trafficking. During the first half of
1996, 76 investigations were initiated and 86 case
investigations were closed; 57 search warrants were
executed, resulting in 218 drug arrests and the
seizure of firearms; 31 felony and 53 misdemeanor
convictions were made following drug arrests; and
36 informants were deactivated while 23 new
informants were developed.

Throughout FY 1996, BJA continued to fund effective
law enforcement programs while creating new
approaches to combating crime. The Comprehensive
Homicide Initiative is a crucial new initiative
designed to combat homicide and increase homicide
clearance rates through innovative and
comprehensive strategies that can be replicated in
other jurisdictions. The cities of Richmond,
Virginia, and Richmond, California, each received
funding to focus prevention activities on the 39
broad homicide-reduction strategies of the IACP
Murder Summit Report. The strategies target the
underlying causes of homicide such as gang
violence, domestic violence, violence associated
with drug activity, and the availability of illegal
firearms. The goal is to develop a comprehensive
plan to improve the prevention, intervention,
enforcement, and prosecution of homicide cases that
can be replicated in other jurisdictions. The
initiative brings together public agencies and
private organizations as well as municipal, county,
State, and Federal agencies. 

The violence prevention efforts of Richmond,
California show how maximizing Federal funding can
promote successful results. Richmond was granted
$350,000 to hire more police officers, implement
community-oriented policing, establish police
substations in high crime areas, use more powerful
computers and software, and work with the FBI and
DEA to target violent drug offenders. Among the
results are a 50 percent decrease in Richmond's
homicide rate since 1995, a dramatic reduction in
homicides in the city's Iron Triangle area (from 21
in 1995 to 8 in 1996), a decrease in homicide
suspects between the ages of 15 to 24 (from 37 in
1993 to 12 in 1995), and a reduction in measurable
violent crime (from 51 to 35 percent). The
Richmond, California, Police Department also
convened a Community Collaborative Violence
Reduction Summit on June 17, 1996, to discuss
housing issues, youth violence, substance abuse,
and jobs and economic opportunities. Among the
summit's youth-oriented results are an elementary
school mentoring program, a youth job-training
program, a probation-officer-on-campus program, a
youth court in which minor offenses by youth are
judged by their peers, a Just for Kids after-school
program, and a youth citizens' police academy and
explorer program. 

BJA continues to focus its crime control
initiatives on children. Although overall crime in
the United States has decreased recently, murders
committed by juveniles have increased by 145
percent during the past 10 years. In FY 1996, BJA
provided the Portland, Oregon, and Albuquerque, New
Mexico, District Attorney's offices with $200,000
and $150,000, respectively, to continue the Gang
Organized Crime Narcotics Violence Enforcement
Project. Since the program's inception, 41 gang
members in Portland have been referred for
prosecution, and more than $10,000 in weapons and
drugs have been seized. In Albuquerque, 92 gang
members have been arrested, and 89 have been
referred for prosecution.

Another innovative criminal justice program
developed for children is BJA's Children of
Arrestees: Model Procedures for Law Enforcement.
BJA developed this program to address a gap in the
criminal justice process. Currently there is no
national, standard operating procedure for dealing
with children who are left behind when the
responsible parent or guardian is arrested. BJA is
working with local police and social service
agencies to develop formal procedures that will
limit the impact of an arrest on the children who
are left behind.

Crime and violence in America is not one-
dimensional, and the initiatives used to combat
crime and violence must be broad-based and
innovative. BJA has been in the forefront in
developing and implementing comprehensive, multi-
jurisdictional crime control initiatives. BJA will
continue to evaluate programs for their potential
and implement effective, comprehensive law
enforcement initiatives in the coming years.

------------------------------

"Community policing is an integral part of
achieving the goals of combating crime and
improving the quality of life in the nation's
cities, towns, and rural areas."

Joseph E. Brann,
Director, Office of Community Oriented Policing
Services

------------------------------

FY 1996 RETURN ON THE INVESTMENT 
OF BJA BYRNE FORMULA FUNDS 

o More than 216,500 offenders have been arrested.

o More than 114,300 firearms and dangerous weapons
have been seized. 

o Drug-related currency seized totaled $87 million.

o Drug-related currency and assets forfeited
totaled $318 million. 

o Cocaine seized was reported to be 379 tons worth
$8 billion. 

o Marijuana seized was reported to be 3,650 tons
worth $55 billion. 

o Marijuana plants destroyed totaled $285 million.

o Methamphetamine seized was reported to be worth
$425 million. 

For every dollar of BJA Byrne Formula Program funds
invested in fighting drug trafficking, more than
$730 in illegal drugs has been prevented from
reaching America's neighborhoods.

------------------------------

Improving the Effectiveness and Efficiency of the
Criminal Justice System

Americans are calling for an effective and
efficient criminal justice system. In FY 1996, BJA
answered that call through the development and
demonstration of innovative programs that support a
comprehensive community justice system.

The mission of BJA's Adjudication Branch 
is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of
all aspects of the adjudication process--the
courts, prosecution, and defense--through the
creation of partnerships involving every component
of the criminal justice system. BJA-funded
initiatives focus on community justice, including a
collaborative effort with the Red Hook Community
Justice Center in Brooklyn, New York, and the
Community Justice Assistance Center in New York
City to establish community justice assistance
centers nationwide. Other major areas of program
activity are enhancing the operation of courts,
ensuring access to justice, developing pretrial and
post-conviction programs, and training State and
local judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys.

A key component of community justice is
neighborhood-based community prosecution. Like
community policing, the goal is to solve public
safety problems as defined by the community. Many
prosecutors are beginning to rethink their roles
and focus on preventing crime and creating safer
neighborhoods. These prosecutors recognize that
criminal procedures alone do little to break the
cycle of violence and that criminal activity can be
reduced when neighborhoods are improved.
Prosecutors are engaging in drug education in
schools, coordinating projects to develop
alternative activities for juveniles, and applying
civil sanctions and city statutes to rid
communities of crack houses. 

In most jurisdictions, community prosecution is
still experimental, but the few jurisdictions that
have taken the time to recognize the benefits of
this approach are faring well. In Portland, Oregon,
community prosecution was first implemented in the
early 1990s and today it benefits many communities.
Similar successes have been reported by
jurisdictions throughout the country, ranging from
suburban and rural areas such as Howard County,
Maryland, to mid-size and large urban cities such
as Kings County (Brooklyn, New York), Marion County
(Indiana), and Middlesex County (Massachusetts). 

In Austin, Texas, the city's community justice
program had produced dramatic results:

o A 19 percent decline in Austin and Travis
County's crime rate during the program's first 2
years, a more dramatic decline than reported in any
other city in Texas or the United States.

o The development of an infrastructure for citizen
participation in criminal justice processes,
including a training course for citizens on
criminal justice issues.

o Sponsorship of a series of community forums to
hear citizens' concerns about neighborhood crime.
The forums spawned the development and
implementation of a neighborhood cleanup program
using adult and juvenile probationers in
partnership with community groups.

o A successful campaign to amend legislation that
mandates the addition of a victims' rights advocate
to community justice task forces across the State.

The nucleus of the community justice system is the
court. To improve the court system, BJA is
experimenting with several innovative programs,
including the Delay Reduction Program in Delaware,
which reduces case processing delays by using
quasi-judicial personnel to substitute for trial
judges at noncritical court-required events. BJA
also funded the creation of a mandatory, 1-day pre-
adjudicatory Juvenile Weapons Court for juveniles
arrested on weapons-related offenses.

Another crucial program is the Models of Effective
Court-Based Service Delivery to Children. A number
of court cases involve multiple family problems
such as child abuse and neglect and domestic
violence. The program's goal is to improve
collaboration among State trial, juvenile, and
family courts and among public health, mental
health, and social services to address multiple
family problems in a comprehensive way.

In FY 1996, BJA also provided funding to continue
effective court-based programs. The Prosecutor's
Pre-Charging Diversion Program in Little Rock,
Arkansas, was awarded $25,000 to continue to
provide youthful offenders with an option to formal
adjudication in juvenile court. The program lowered
the recidivism rate of youthful offenders,
resulting in a reduction in crimes committed and in
the number of juvenile court cases in the juvenile
justice system.

BJA also began a new initiative, the Health Care
Fraud Prosecution Program, to address one of the
biggest problems plaguing America and America's
courtrooms. The General Accounting Office estimates
that the health care industry consumes $1 trillion
of the Nation's budget and about 10 percent--$100
billion--is lost to fraud, waste, and abuse. Most
health care industry fraud occurs at the State
level. Through the National Association of
Attorneys General (NAAG), the Health Care Fraud
Prosecution Program provides training and technical
assistance to State attorneys general and to local
prosecutors on investigating and prosecuting health
care fraud. NAAG also provides direct technical
assistance to the health care fraud units of
Maryland, Minnesota, and Wisconsin to develop model
strategies and techniques.

In addition to implementing innovative pilot
programs in FY 1996, BJA also continued funding
formal research and in-depth analysis on improving
criminal justice services, eliminating racial bias,
improving the effectiveness of sentencing
guidelines and mandatory minimums, and improving
the interaction between State and tribal courts.

------------------------------

"Integral to the system's effectiveness is a
strong, community-wide network consisting of law
enforcement, prosecutors, the courts, corrections
officials, health and mental health providers, the
religious community, schools, legislative bodies,
and the private sector, among others."

Aileen Adams,
Director, Office for Victims of Crime

------------------------------

WORKING TOGETHER TO CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE
COMMUNITY JUSTICE SYSTEM

BJA is assisting in the development of the
Community Justice Assistance Center to help courts
and communities throughout the Nation close the
gaps between them. Organizations such as the
American Prosecutors Research Institute, the
National Center for State Courts, the National
Institute of Corrections, the National Legal Aid
Defender Association, and the Center for Effective
Public Policy serve as partners in a consortium of
technical assistance providers whose efforts will
be coordinated through New York's Midtown Community
Court. Plans for the center include mediation, job
training, victim assistance, legal education, and
youth development, as well as an extensive range of
on-site services such as drug treatment, health
care, and domestic violence counseling.

------------------------------

Changing the Course of Corrections

The BJA has been a leader in funding corrections
research and program development for several years.
During the past 5 years, BJA has effectively
changed the course of corrections by forging a
multidimensional approach in American corrections
that includes alternative sanctions and treatment
for offenders, putting prisoners to work, and
helping them make the transition from incarceration
to the community.

In 1996, the total correctional population in the
United States reached almost 1.6 million--an
increase of 4.4 percent from 1995. Since 1985,
America's prison population has more than doubled,
costing Americans more than $30 billion a year.
Accordingly, BJA has invested considerable
resources in researching, developing, and
implementing effective and safe incarceration
alternatives. In 1990 the Crime Control Act
provided BJA with the authority to establish the
Correctional Options Demonstration Program, a
comprehensive program to help State and local
governments respond to the pervasive problems of
prison and jail overcrowding and the high
recidivism rate of youthful offenders incarcerated
in traditional correctional facilities. 

Since FY 1992, BJA has provided financial and
technical assistance to State and local governments
and to private, nonprofit organizations to support
the planning, development, implementation,
monitoring, and evaluation of demonstration
projects that test a broad range of alternatives to
traditional modes of incarceration. These projects
assist offenders in pursuing a lawful and
productive transition to the community following
release by providing security, discipline, and
comprehensive services, including diagnosis,
counseling, substance abuse treatment, education,
job training, and placement assistance while under
correctional supervision. The projects also link
services in the community with work opportunities
to promote the development of offenders' skills.
All BJA correctional options demonstration projects
have four basic goals: reducing incarceration
costs, relieving prison and jail crowding, reducing
recidivism rates for youthful offenders, and
advancing correctional practices.

One project that meets these four goals is the
Mobile Diversionary Drug Treatment Program. BJA
awarded the Alabama Department of Corrections
$370,000 to create the program, which offers
offenders immediate treatment for their addiction.
The 12-month, three-phase drug court includes a
community track of intensive outpatient treatment
for drug offenders and an institutional track for
more recalcitrant drug offenders. Since the
program's inception in FY 1993, more than 595
potential participants have been interviewed, 305
offenders have entered the diversion program, and
more than 100 participants have graduated.

In FY 1996, BJA convened a focus group with
representatives from successful State and local
correctional options projects to obtain their
insights on the further development of the
Correctional Options Demonstration Program. As a
result of that meeting, BJA formed the National
Technical Assistance and Dissemination 
Initiative for Correctional Options to encourage
States to support new correctional options projects
with Byrne Formula Grants and to use these Byrne
Formula funds to leverage additional funding
sources.

BJA also funded impact evaluations of corrections
options demonstration sites to identify model
projects for other communities to emulate. Findings
from the evaluations indicate that offenders who
are admitted to these programs pose considerable
challenges to treatment efforts because of their
youth, lack of education, poor job skills, low
rates of employment, lack of social stability,
history of drug abuse, and extensive record of
prior arrests and convictions. However, these
projects are successful in delivering badly needed
services to a high-risk offender population and
offering far more services and supervision than
normally provided. Florida, Maryland, New
Hampshire, and Vermont have succeeded in reaching
their goal of cost effectiveness by targeting
offenders who otherwise would have spent a
considerable amount of time in custody.

The second part of BJA's corrections agenda
provides a work and job skills ethic to offenders
who are not given the opportunity to participate in
an alternative corrections program. BJA supports
the Prison Industries Enhancement (PIE) Program,
which encourages joint ventures between private
industries and State prisons to make goods and
services using inmate labor. To date, the program
has generated $6,111,453 in taxes and $10,458,796
to offset incarceration costs. Another $3,449,218
has been generated for family support and
$3,644,557 for victims of inmate crimes. 

The third and perhaps most important part of the
corrections process is transitioning the offender
from incarceration to the community. Because 90
percent of offenders someday will be released and
return to the community, a great deal of research
and program development is needed at this stage. In
FY 1996, BJA provided more than $1 million in
funding to various sites to reduce recidivism and
achieve a positive reintegration into the
community.

One such project is the innovative Opportunity to
Succeed (OPTS) program, which was created to help
addicted ex-offenders break this cycle of
recidivism and become contributing members of their
communities. This multiline demonstration project
provides a unique blend of intensive services for
addicted ex-offenders by building on the drug
treatment they received while incarcerated. The
theory behind OPTS is that ex-offenders who have
reduced their drug use through treatment are more
likely to turn their lives around if given a
coherent plan of aftercare drug treatment and other
support, particularly employment and training,
health and mental health services, drug-free
housing, and parenting and family skills training.

A second transition project funded by BJA assists
former offenders as they reintegrate into free
society by combining substance abuse treatment and
family counseling, GED education and academic
enhancement, training in conflict resolution and
relationship skills, and job training and
placement.

------------------------------

MARYLAND

An impact evaluation of Maryland's Correctional
Options Program for youthful offenders, conducted
by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency,
found that the program successfully reduced time
spent in prison for its participants by about 4
months, delivered a diverse array of intense
services, and achieved considerable cost savings
without jeopardizing public safety.

------------------------------

VERMONT

Vermont's Correctional Options Program sought to
redistribute the State's correctional populations
by broadening its sentencing options and addressing
offender needs and risk factors. Since the program
began in 1993, Vermont's prison admissions and
court dispositions to prison have declined
substantially, especially for non-violent
offenders. These decreases were absorbed by 
sentences to less-expensive, treatment-oriented
community supervision programs. Vermont's prison is
now highly concentrated with violent offenders who
pose the greatest risk to public safety.

------------------------------

Special Programs

In addition to the Byrne Formula Grant Program and
the Byrne Discretionary Program, BJA also funds
projects through its Special Programs Division.
Grants from the Special Programs Division address
specific, large-scale problems such as natural
disasters, motor vehicle thefts, Federal
emergencies, church arson, denial of Federal
benefits, and public safety officer deaths. 

Most Americans place a priceless value on the lives
and contributions of public safety officers who
serve their communities in potentially dangerous
circumstances and want the courage and selflessness
shown by these officers to be recognized. As a
society, America wants to take care of these
professionals. BJA is doing its part through the
Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) Program.
The mission of PSOB is to assist public safety
officers, their agencies, and their families
before, during, and after a tragedy occurs. The
PSOB Program is designed to compensate spouses and
children or parents of public safety officers
killed or disabled in the line of duty. Since the
program's inception in 1977, 4,000 families have
received approximately $300 million in financial
assistance. In FY 1996, PSOB increased its case
closures by 30 percent from the previous year. A
total of 184 claims were approved in 1996,
providing $24.2 million in financial assistance to
the families of public safety officers killed in
the line of duty. 

In addition to financial support, the program
provides moral support and, when necessary,
referrals to organizations such as Concerns of
Police Survivors (COPS), which provide crisis
intervention and long-term support for surviving
family members and coworkers of deceased public
safety officers. In FY 1996, BJA provided $300,000
to COPS to support crisis intervention and grief
counseling and to provide regional training for law
enforcement representatives on line-of-duty deaths.

Because of the tragic circumstances surrounding the
PSOB Program, BJA staff receive training on helping
individuals suffering from grief, critical incident
stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder with
sensitivity and professionalism.

BJA also provides funds for the Emergency Federal
Law Enforcement Assistance (EFLEA) Program, which
authorizes the Attorney General to provide funds,
equipment, training, intelligence information, and
personnel to help alleviate emergency situations.
EFLEA addresses extraordinary circumstances in
which State and local resources have been
completely exhausted or are inadequate to deal with
a law enforcement emergency. Although no
applications were received during 1996, EFLEA
awards have assisted in a number of law enforcement
emergencies in the past, including the Branch
Davidian standoff in Waco, Texas, the San Francisco
earthquake in December 1989, Hurricane Hugo, and
the Los Angeles riots in May 1992.


Another special program implemented in 1996 was
prompted by the alarming string of church arson
incidents in several southern States. President
Clinton announced the new initiative, called the
Church Arson Prevention Grant Program in July 1996
and made $6 million available to county governments
in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Because of the urgent need to prevent further
arson, BJA created and started this new program,
disseminated grant applications, and distributed
awards in less than 3 months. In only 2 weeks, BJA
processed and distributed more than $2.7 million to
587 county governments. 

In addition to providing funds to prevent church
arson, BJA also formed a partnership with Community
Research Associates, Inc., the National Sheriffs'
Association, and the Federal Emergency Management
Agency to create a multifaceted training and
technical assistance program that will enhance the
capacity of States and their local jurisdictions to
develop community-based strategies to prevent
church arson. 

The Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Act (MVTPA) of
1994 authorizes the Attorney General to develop, in
cooperation with the States, the Watch Your Car
Program, a national voluntary motor vehicle theft
prevention program. A cooperative initiative among
the States, local governments, and BJA, the program
is designed to reduce the 1.5 million motor vehicle
thefts each year in the United States. It allows an
owner of a motor vehicle to display a decal on the
vehicle to alert police that the vehicle is not
normally driven between the hours of 1 and 5 a.m.
Motorists also may choose to display another decal
to signify that the vehicle is not normally driven
across or in the proximity of international land
borders or ports.

BJA also manages two important clearinghouses
through the Special Program Division: the Denial of
Federal Benefits Program Clearinghouse and the 
Defense Procurement Fraud Debarment Clearinghouse.
The Denial of Federal Benefits Program provides
Federal and State courts with the ability to deny
all or selected Federal benefits to individuals
convicted of drug trafficking or drug possession.
The sanction helps ensure that individuals found
guilty of violating the Controlled Substances Act
forfeit their claims to most taxpayer-supported
economic benefits, such as Federal loans and
licenses, and to other privileges. The Defense
Procurement Fraud Clearinghouse establishes a
single point of contact for contractors or
subcontractors of the U.S. Department of Defense to
confirm promptly whether potential employees have
been convicted of defense contract-related fraud or
another felony. These combined programs have
processed more than 3,500 cases related to drug
trafficking, drug possession, and defense fraud
debarment.

In FY 1996, BJA supported three additional special
initiatives that are managed separately because
they are such large, broad-based programs. The
first program, the Regional Information Sharing
Systems (RISS) Program, is part of BJA's
collaborative law enforcement efforts. The RISS
Program supports Federal, State, and local law
enforcement efforts to combat criminal activity
that extend across jurisdictional boundaries. Six
regional RISS projects provide a broad range of
intelligence exchange and related investigative
support services to member criminal investigative
agencies nationwide. The projects focus primarily
on narcotics trafficking, violent crime, criminal
gang activity, and organized crime. In FY 1996, the
RISS Program completed electronic connectivity
among all projects, as well as among other systems,
to better facilitate the collection, dissemination,
and analysis of criminal intelligence. Also in FY
1996, the RISS projects worked with the National
Major Gang Task Force to encourage the sharing and
dissemination of gang intelligence information
between the law enforcement and corrections
communities.

The second program is the National White Collar
Crime Center. In addition to drug trafficking and
organized crime interdictions, BJA focuses its law
enforcement efforts on economic crimes. The
National White Collar Crime Center provides a
national support system for the prevention,
investigation, and prosecution of
multijurisdictional economic crimes such as
investment fraud, telemarketing fraud, boiler room
operations, securities fraud, commodities fraud,
and advanced-fee loan schemes. The Center's mission
is to provide investigative support services 
to agencies fighting this crime, operate a national
training and research institute focusing on
economic crime issues, and develop the Center as a
national resource in combating economic crime.

Finally, BJA supported the State Criminal Alien
Assistance Program (SCAAP) in 1996. Under SCAAP,
BJA provides Federal funds to States and localities
to help pay the costs of incarcerating criminal
aliens who are in the United States illegally and
who have been convicted and sentenced for felony
offenses. In 1995, SCAAP's first year, only States
were eligible for funding, and BJA awarded $128.7
million to 44 States and the District of Columbia
as partial reimbursement for the costs of
incarcerating more than 37,000 criminal aliens. In
FY 1996, both States and local governments received
reimbursement totaling $500 million, less
administrative costs.

------------------------------

"This is a test not just for law enforcement, but
for all law-abiding Americans. With this step [the
Church Arson Program], the national government will
be helping local police not only to investigate
arson and apprehend the guilty, but to help
physically protect churches from harm in the 
first place."

President Bill Clinton, 
July 2, 1996

------------------------------

"The Church Arson Prevention Program has pulled
everyone--church leaders, pastors, firefighters,
law enforcement, and citizens--together. Now, the
community has branched out beyond the Church Watch
Program and reported any and all suspicious
behavior, preventing crime before it happens."

Major Joseph S. Momier, Jr.,
Catawba County, North Carolina, Sheriff's Office

------------------------------

Investing in State and Local Jurisdictions

The Bureau of Justice Assistance invests
significantly in local communities and community
partnerships that support the development of
comprehensive systems of community justice. BJA
acknowledges that State and local jurisdictions are
essential to reducing crime. In FY 1996, BJA
administered the Local Law Enforcement Block Grants
(LLEBG) Program, which helps State and local
jurisdictions control crime and improve public
safety strategies. 

In FY 1996, BJA distributed LLEBG grants using a
formula based on Uniform Crime Report data on
violent crime covering the past 3 years. BJA made
direct awards to units of local governments that
qualified for $10,000 or more. The largest grants
went to New York City ($33,015,183) and Chicago
($18,351,721). Jurisdictions that did not receive
direct awards were eligible to receive funds or
increased services from their State, which received
a base amount in addition to the funds allocated
for jurisdictions that did not qualify for at least
$10,000.

Local jurisdictions used their grants for any of
the following initiatives:

o Hiring, training, and employing additional law
enforcement officers and necessary support
personnel.

o Enhancing security measures in and around schools
or other special risk areas for crime incidents.

o Establishing or supporting drug courts.

o Enhancing the adjudication of cases involving
violent offenders.

o Establishing a multijurisdictional task force,
particularly in rural areas.

o Establishing cooperative crime prevention
programs.

o Defraying the cost of indemnification insurance
for law enforcement officers.

BJA distributed more than $400 million in FY 1996
to almost 3,000 local jurisdictions and 56 States,
U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia in
only 6 months. To process the unusually large
number of applications, BJA created the Automated
Application and Award Process. For the first time,
BJA allowed jurisdictions to submit their one-page
applications via modem or on diskette. All
applications, even those submitted on paper, were
scanned and stored electronically, significantly
reducing paperwork during the review and award
process.

In addition to the day-to-day program assistance
available to grant recipients, LLEBG Division staff
are currently developing a long-term technical
assistance plan. The LLEBG Program would like to
provide grantees with technical assistance for
equipment procurement, establish peer-to-peer
technical assistance in conjunction with the Drug
Courts Program Office, replicate the Automated
Application and Award System at State levels, and
establish automated grant monitoring procedures and
standards to increase efficiency. The LLEBG
Division will work with State administrative
agencies and direct grantees to provide information
necessary for facilitating systemwide planning and
ongoing criminal justice efforts. 

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is in the
process of selecting an organization to conduct a
formal evaluation of the program. The evaluation
design, a joint effort of NIJ and BJA, will analyze
the use of funds by units of local and State
governments, the decisionmaking models used by
jurisdictions to allocate funds, selected process
evaluations of local programs, and the methods used
by BJA to allocate and distribute funds.

------------------------------

"Delinquency prevention will work in the long 
run, but real change will take time. We have
already made significant progress toward the
establishment of a comprehensive, nationwide
approach to delinquency prevention--one that puts
control of resources and decisions at the 
local level."

Shay Bilchik,
Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice 
and Delinquency Prevention

------------------------------

THE BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE: 
GAINING EFFICIENCY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

The LLEBG Program was authorized by the FY 1996
Omnibus Appropriations Act passed in late April
1996. In a fiscal year shortened by Government
shutdowns, BJA managed to design, staff, and
organize the LLEBG Program and disbursed all grants
in just 6 months. To process the unusually large
number of applications BJA received, the Bureau
reinvented its grant award process. For the first
time, BJA automated its application and award
process, significantly reducing paperwork and
increasing productivity for the grant monitoring
process.

------------------------------

Technical Assistance and Evaluation: 
Creating a Model Criminal Justice System

In FY 1996, BJA focused its efforts on continued
research, evaluation, and training in all program
areas. BJA funds a tremendous amount of research on
what works in the criminal justice system, and
evaluates programs to determine how they can be
improved. The goal of BJA's evaluation component is
to identify programs of proven effectiveness and to
disseminate information about them so that they can
be replicated in other jurisdictions. Results of
BJA program evaluations guide the formulation of
policy and programs with Federal, State, and local
criminal justice agencies. 

Because applicants for Byrne Formula and
Discretionary Grant Program funds are required to
provide evaluations and assessments of their
programs, BJA created the State and Local
Evaluation Development Program to help build an
evaluation capacity in each Byrne-funded locality.
This supplemental technical assistance component
will facilitate program and project evaluations,
resulting in the implementation of more effective
projects in all 56 States and U.S. Territories.

In FY 1996, BJA funded Community Research
Associates (CRA) and the Justice Research and
Statistics Association (JRSA) to plan and organize
the trainings, conferences, and workshops, and to
distribute information in all BJA-funded
localities.

The State and Local Evaluation Program focuses on
enhancing State and local criminal justice program
evaluation capacities. The project provides a forum
for sharing information on developing effective
monitoring, reporting, and evaluation systems. In
addition to funding these research organizations,
BJA also invests heavily in hiring practitioners to
respond to Byrne Program requests for evaluation
assistance.

BJA combines this broad-based technical assistance
with project-specific support. BJA's State and
Local Training and Technical Assistance Program
provides training and technical assistance to
States, units of local government, and recognized
Native American tribes for developing and
implementing comprehensive systemwide strategies to
prevent and combat drug-related and violent crime
and to improve the functioning of State and local
criminal justice systems. Training projects funded
in FY 1996 are described below.

The Interstate Firearms Trafficking Compact, a BJA-
funded, "train-the-trainers" program, provides
training in 14 states and the District of Columbia.
The program provides police trainers with a
curriculum to train local law enforcement officers
about the benefits and techniques involved in
conducting firearms traces. 

National Funding Collaborative on Violence
Prevention provides funding (in partnership with
foundations and corporations), training, and
technical assistance to reduce crime and violence
in 12 public housing sites and nearby areas.

A $275,000 grant was awarded to the Institute for
Intergovernmental Research to continue conducting
specialized training (including anti-terrorism
training) of law enforcement agencies, with
particular emphasis on multi-agency coordination, 
in the areas of threat identification,
vulnerability assessment, preparation, response and
recovery operations, and investigation.

The Rural Law Enforcement Agency Resource
Development program provides technical assistance
and training to rural law enforcement agencies that
serve a population of less than 25,000 people. In
one year, more than 4,000 inquiries were received
via the Internet from law enforcement agencies
seeking assistance and more than 250 rural agencies
were brought online. More than 700 hours of
technical assistance were provided via the
Internet, and onsite training was provided to
sheriffs, police departments, and local
prosecutors.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police
(IACP) trains local law enforcement officers, in
conjunction with the INS, to detect criminal
activity by illegal aliens, recognize fraudulent
documents and smuggling methods, and identify alien
organized crime groups. In FY 1996, IACP and the
INS trained nearly 300 officers from 91 law
enforcement agencies. Since the program's first
sessions in May 1991, more than 1,300 officers
nationwide have been trained, and a 750-page
reference manual has been produced.

The Crime and Justice Research Institute provides
the technical assistance to facilitate the
planning, implementation, and evaluation of BJA-
funded Comprehensive Homicide Initiatives.

The Tribal Courts Program was funded to improve the
interrelations of State, tribal, and Federal
courts, and to help tribal courts create an
effective and efficient justice system in their
jurisdiction.

CRA provides nationwide training and technical
assistance in support of national drug control and
violent crime prevention efforts by improving State
and local violence prevention, intervention,
community empowerment, drug enforcement, and
criminal justice systems. 

The Community-Focused Courts Initiative strengthens
court and community relations by identifying and
studying models of collaboration between the courts
and the public. To increase cooperation, in 1996
the National Center for State Courts convened a
meeting with representatives of Federal agencies
and private foundations.

The Community Justice Assistance Center provides
technical assistance to courts and communities
throughout the Nation seeking to establish
community justice centers.

The American Prosecutors Research Institute
provides training and technical assistance to local
prosecutors for planning and implementing community
prosecution programs. In 1996, two regional
community prosecution technical assistance
workshops were held to train prosecutors from 20 
sites in the strategic and implementation 
of community prosecution programs. 

The SEARCH National Training and Technical
Assistance Program (NTTAP), created in 1986, offers
assistance to criminal justice agencies across the
country in various areas. NTTAP helps agencies to
improve the general level of knowledge and
understanding of criminal justice information
management, improve information management through
the use of computer technology among local and
State justice agencies, and enhance the
effectiveness and efficiency of State and local
justice practitioners by developing technical
resources and demonstrating the operational
benefits of technology.

BJA also funds project-specific assessments and
technological advancements: 

The Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement was
awarded a grant for more than $45,000 to test the
validity of a study designed to determine whether
Nebraska is using crime victim assistance funds
efficiently and effectively. Once the Victim
Services Needs Assessment Instrument has been
tested and finalized, it will be made available to
other States.

The Prison Gang Intelligence System continues to
counter criminal activity by organized gangs in
State and Federal penitentiaries and their control
over the criminal activity of street gangs.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation continued the
Statewide Intelligence System Sharing Program to
develop a high-speed database and computer network
to exchange intelligence information on
multijurisdictional illegal drug trafficking and
violent criminal organizations. In addition, the
Statewide Intelligence Sharing System Program is
being developed in Connecticut, North Dakota, and
Wisconsin.

The Model Clandestine Drug Laboratory Enforcement
Program helps State and local officials develop
policies and procedures related to the use of
hazardous chemicals in manufacturing illegal drugs.
In FY 1996, 9 training programs reached 450
policymakers from 98 Federal, State, and local
public safety agencies across the country.

The Model Internet Systems for State and Local
Criminal Justice Agencies program helps State and
local criminal justice agencies access the Internet
and electronically share and publish criminal
justice data and information.

------------------------------

"These data are critical to Federal, State, and
local policymakers in combating crime and ensuring
that justice is both efficient and even handed."

Jan Chaiken,
Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics

------------------------------

Appendix

------------------------------

BJA Legislative Purpose Areas

The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 established 21
purpose areas (listed below) that define the nature
and scope of programs and projects that might be
funded under the Byrne Formula Grant Program
(recently expanded to 26 purpose areas). These
areas in toto provide substantial authorization for
programs that address drug control, violent and
serious crime, all aspects of criminal justice
processing including incarceration and treatment of
offenders, and general improvements in justice
system operations.

1. Demand-reduction education programs in which law
enforcement officers participate.

2. Multijurisdictional task force programs that
integrate Federal, State, and local drug
enforcement agencies and prosecutors for the
purpose of enhancing interagency coordination and
intelligence and facilitating multijurisdictional
investigations.

3. Programs that target the domestic sources of
controlled and illegal substances, such as
precursor chemicals, diverted pharmaceuticals,
clandestine laboratories, and cannabis
cultivations.

4. Community and neighborhood programs that assist
citizens in preventing and controlling drug abuse
and drug-related crime, including special programs
that address the problems of crimes against the
elderly and special programs for rural
jurisdictions.

5. Disrupting illicit commerce in stolen goods and
property. 

6. Improving the investigation and prosecution of
white-collar crime, organized crime, public
corruption crime, and fraud against the Federal
Government, with priority attention to cases
involving drug-related official corruption.

7. a. Improving the operational effectiveness of
law enforcement through the use of crime analysis
techniques, street sales enforcement, schoolyard
violator programs, and gang-related and low-income
housing drug control programs.

b. Developing and implementing anti-terrorism plans
for deep draft ports, international airports, and
other important facilities.

8. Career criminal prosecution programs, including
the development of model drug control legislation.

9. Financial investigative programs that target the
identification of money laundering operations and
assess funds obtained through illegal drug
trafficking, including the development of proposed
model legislation and financial information-sharing
systems.

10. Improving the operational effectiveness of the
court process by expanding prosecutorial, defender,
and judicial resources and implementing court delay
reduction programs.

11. Programs designed to provide additional public
correctional resources and improve the corrections
system, including treatment in prisons and jails,
intensive supervision programs, and long-range
corrections and sentencing strategies.

12. Prison industry projects designed to place
inmates in a realistic working and training
environment that will enable them to acquire
marketable skills and make financial payments for
restitution to their victims, support of their own
families, and support of themselves in the
institution.

13. Providing programs that identify and meet the
treatment needs of adult and juvenile drug-
dependent and alcohol-dependent offenders.

14. Developing and implementing programs to provide
assistance to jurors and witnesses as well as
assistance (other than compensation) to victims of
crime.

15. a. Developing programs to improve drug control
technology, such as pretrial drug testing programs;
programs to provide for the identification,
assessment, referral to treatment, case management,
and monitoring of drug-dependent offenders; and
enhancement of State and local forensics
laboratories.

b. Criminal justice information systems to assist
law enforcement, prosecution, courts, and
corrections organizations (including automated
fingerprint identification systems).

16. Innovative programs that demonstrate new and
different approaches to enforcement, prosecution,
and adjudication of drug offenses and other serious
crimes.

17. Addressing the problems of drug trafficking and
illegal manufacture of controlled substances in
public housing.

18. Improving the criminal and juvenile justice
systems' response to domestic and family violence,
including spousal abuse, child abuse, and abuse of
the elderly.

19. Drug control evaluation programs that State and
local units of government may use to evaluate
programs and projects directed at State drug
control activities.

20. Providing alternatives to prevent detention,
jail, and prison for persons who pose no danger to
the community.

21. Programs in which the primary goal 
is to strengthen urban enforcement and prosecution
efforts targeted at street drug sales.

22. Programs for the prosecution of driving-while-
intoxicated charges and the enforcement of other
laws relating to alcohol use and the operation of
motor vehicles.

23. Programs that address the need for effective
bindover systems for the prosecution of violent 16-
and 17-year-old juveniles in courts with
jurisdiction over adults. [Certain violent crimes,
including murder and felonies committed with
firearms, are specified.]

24. Law enforcement and prevention programs that
relate to gangs or youth at risk for involvement in
gangs.

25. Developing or improving a forensic laboratory's
capability to analyze DNA for identification
purposes. [Funding in this area requires adherence
to (or the promise to adhere to) regulations that
will be developed and disseminated by the Attorney
General with the assistance of the FBI and the
National Institute of Justice during the next
year.]

26. Programs to assist States in the litigation
processing of death penalty Federal habeas corpus
petitions. (Added by the Appropriations Act of
1995.)

------------------------------

BJA Documents

Published October 1, 1995 - September 30, 1996

Annual Report
BJA Annual Report 1995 (NCJ 161417)

Document Scans for File Conversion:

A Report to the Attorney General:
Multijurisdictional Task Forces Use of Overtime and
Related Issues FY l994 (NCJ 160936) 

Lengthening the Stride: Employing Peace Officers
From Newly Arrived Ethnic Groups (National Criminal
Prevention Council, NCJ l59738)

Building and Crossing Bridges: Refugees and Law
Enforcement Working Together (National Crime
Prevention Council, NCJ l50047)

Fact Sheets:

Boys and Girls Clubs of America (FS00106)

Business Alliance Program: Creating Business and
Community Partnerships (FS000119)

Comprehensive Gang Initiative (FS000116)

Correctional Options Grant Program (FS000056)

Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.)
(FS000039)

Denial of Federal Benefits Program and
Clearinghouse (FS000102) 

Defense Procurement Fraud Debarment Clearinghouse
(FS000103) 

Differentiated Case Management (FS000061)

Federal Surplus Real Property Transfer Program
(FS000045)

Financial Investigations Program (FS00012)

FY 1994 Review of State Formula Grant Strategies
(FS000110) 

Keeping Drug Activity Out of Rental Property:
Establishing Landlord Training Programs (FS000117)

Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program
(FS000l47)

Model State Drug Statutes (FS000047)

Multiagency Response to Clandestine Drug
Laboratories (FS00014) 

National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign
(FS000121)

National Night Out: A Community-Police Partnership
Program (FS000122) 

National White Collar Crime Center (FS000120)

NCJRS Document Data Base (FS000048)

NCJRS Online Services (FS000041)

Organized Crime Narcotics Trafficking Enforcement
Program (FS000115) 

Police Hiring Supplement Program (FS000111)

Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program
(FS000046) 

Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program (FS000066)

Regional Information Sharing System (FS000037)

SEARCH Training and Technical Assistance Program
(FS000107) 

Training Local Law Enforcement Officers in Criminal
Activities Involving Illegal Aliens (FS000109)

Treatment Accountability for Safer Communities
(FS000044)

Trial Court Performance Standards and Measurement
System (FS000059) 

Miscellaneous:

Understanding Community Policing (reprint with
covers) (NCJ 148457) (OF)

Monographs: 

Developing A Strategy for a Multiagency Response to
Clandestine Laboratories (Reprint) (NCJ 142643)
(OF)

Regional Seminar Series on Developing and
Implementing State Anti-Stalking Codes (NCJ 156836)

National Assessment of Structured Sentencing (NCJ
153853)

Publications Lists:

BJA Publications List-Fall 1995 (BC000189)

BJA Publications List-Spring 1996 (BC000189)

BJA Publications List Redesign-Summer 1996
(BC000189)

**OF -- Fee for Service Product

------------------------------

This publication was supported by cooperative
agreement number 97-DD-BX-0011 awarded by the
Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice
Programs, U.S. Department of Justice to the
National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

For a copy of this document online, as well as more
information on BJA, check the BJA Home Page at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA