U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Assistance
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

810 Seventh Street NW.

Washington, DC 20531

Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Attorney General

Laurie O. Robinson

Assistant Attorney General

James H. Burch, II

Acting Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance

Office of Justice Programs

Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods

www.ojp.gov

Bureau of Justice Assistance

www.ojp.gov/BJA

NCJ 230348

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. 

Robinson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and 

control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has seven components: the Bureau 

of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; 

the Community Capacity Development Office; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, 

Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. More information about OJP can be 

found at www.ojp.gov.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | i

TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF 

REPRESENTATIVES AND THE PRESIDENT

PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE: 

P

ursuant 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 Fiscal Year 2009.

Respectfully submitted,

James H. Burch, II

Acting Director

Bureau of Justice Assistance

Washington, D.C.

July 2010

FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | iii

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR 

Our Constitution establishes the core purpose for which government must create criminal 

justice systems, and it entrusts government with the power to defend its citizens and 

protect its communities in a fair and responsible manner. This justice system comprises law 

enforcement, the courts, prosecution and defense, corrections, communities, and community-based 

organizations. 

However, the creation of the system is not enough. Many countries have the infrastructure of 

a criminal justice system, but our Constitution, our history, and our President call us to a higher 

standard: a justice system that not only has sufficient infrastructure but also is of the high quality 

that our values demand. President Obama has declared that his Administration will be the most 

transparent in history, and that our justice system must live up to that lofty goal. 

Committed to President Obama’s principles of excellence and transparency, and understanding 

that trust, transparency, and the protection of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties are fundamental 

to effective crime control and to achieving safe communities, Attorney General Eric Holder has 

rededicated the Department of Justice (DOJ) to these values “with a welcomed obligation to future 

generations and with an unwavering commitment to justice for all . . . people.” Under the leadership 

of Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and the Bureau of 

Justice Assistance (BJA) are implementing the President’s call to be transparent, engage communities, 

and collaborate with justice systems at all levels to foster legitimacy and to ensure equity in criminal 

justice. 

BJA’s Role

BJA was created in 1984 with a mission to provide leadership and criminal justice policy development 

and grant administration services to support local, state, and tribal justice strategies for achieving 

safer communities. We believe that our leadership and the services that we provide are crucial to the 

identification and replication of sound new criminal justice approaches, and to the dissemination and 

facilitation of best practices throughout the country. Accordingly, BJA fulfills its mission by:

■ Emphasizing local control and accountability of programs.

■ Developing partnerships and relationships with the field.
iv | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

■ Encouraging evidence-based practices, innovation, and research.

■ Building expanded capacity. 

■ Streamlining grant funding, targeted training and technical assistance, and smart approaches and 

promising practices communicated to the field.

BJA has a demonstrated ability to collaborate with the field to define priorities clearly and engage key 

stakeholders effectively to design and deliver programs that yield positive outcomes. The initiatives 

presented in this document require the participation of all BJA stakeholder communities, representing 

all aspects of the formal and informal or community justice system. These practitioners provide 

priceless insight for developing targeted, sustainable solutions nationwide. 

As the Acting Director of BJA, I welcome this opportunity to share some of our agency’s successes 

in fiscal year (FY) 2009, such as how our partnerships with communities, local justice agencies and 

organizations, states, tribal nations, and other federal agencies have helped strengthen the criminal 

justice system throughout the country so it may better address the opportunities and challenges of 

the year ahead. 

Reflections on FY 2009

Maintaining the Viability of the Justice System

FY 2009 was a year marked with both incredible challenge and significant positive change for 

governmental and nongovernmental criminal justice professionals throughout the country. Vulnerable 

to the economic downturn, state, local, and tribal governments as well as faith-based and community 

organizations faced severe difficulties in finding revenue to support critical criminal justice initiatives 

and achieve and maintain safe communities. Although the federal government was also affected by 

the downturn, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) enabled BJA to provide 

nearly $3 billion in support of state and local criminal justice efforts. BJA processed more than 15,000 

funding applications for Recovery Act funding, which was in high demand (for example, BJA offered 

$605 million in discretionary funding, but requests for it exceeded $4.67 billion). These Recovery Act 

grants were able to sustain state and local law enforcement offices and crime prevention programs 

throughout the country when many predicted that the hard times would fuel crime and other 

negative outcomes. From helping to reinstate 18 state troopers who had been laid off in Michigan, 

to adding 24 crime analysts in the Kentucky State Police, to adding 23 new sheriffs’ service officer 

jobs in Polk County, Florida, DOJ’s Recovery Act funding ensured that the justice system remained 

viable. In addition to creating and sustaining justice system jobs, the Recovery Act funding actually 

enabled gains in fighting crime. For example, the Kansas State Highway Patrol, having received 

Recovery Act funding to hire 22 new state troopers and enhance its Domestic Highway Enforcement 

Teams, recovered “the single largest roadside seizure of ecstasy (270 pounds).” Using new interdiction 

technology, this agency confiscated 70 pounds of cocaine concealed in a tractor trailer, which 

ultimately led to more arrests and seizures in other states and cities.

BJA’s success, however, was not limited to its grant administration role. Offering tools and knowledge, 

including policy options and lessons learned from other communities, BJA’s critical support helped 

policymakers and criminal justice professionals provide high-quality and efficient services. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | v

Leveraging Resources To Fight Economic Crime 

Although crime continued to ebb in FY 2009, economic crime—including mortgage fraud, financial 

crimes, and intellectual property (IP) crimes—became a top focus for ensuring continued economic 

recovery. BJA addressed this priority by leveraging its policy, funding, and training and technical 

assistance resources. Through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, 

for example, Colorado funded its Communities Against Senior Exploitation (CASE) program, which 

provides information, guidance, intervention, and restoration concerning economic and other crime 

against seniors. Similarly, the Recovery Act granted $10.7 million specifically for state and local law 

enforcement and prosecutors to address mortgage fraud and crime related to vacant properties. BJA 

also continued funding the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), which provides extensive 

training and technical assistance nationwide as well as critical investigative and case support services 

on complex matters related to financial and economic crime. To address intellectual property crimes 

that undermine our national economy and security, BJA awarded $2 million for state and local IP 

crime enforcement and prevention efforts, and partnered with NW3C and the National Association of 

Attorneys General to provide training and technical assistance on IP crimes and issues. 

Protecting Our Nation Against Terrorist Threats

To further protect our nation against domestic and international terrorist threats and from violent 

crime, BJA continued to support the State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training (SLATT) Program, a 

dynamic, nationwide training and technical assistance initiative that has reached more than 100,000 

law enforcement officers and investigators in more than 1,000 training sessions since the program’s 

inception. Related to this initiative, BJA also continued its Communities Against Terrorism (CAT) 

Program, an interactive resource for law enforcement agencies nationwide that want to engage 

their communities in remaining alert to terrorist threats. BJA also worked closely in FY 2009 with the 

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to support 

the pilot testing of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI), which enables law 

enforcement agencies to appropriately identify and share suspicious activity data, “connect the dots,” 

and protect communities against terrorism. NSI is predicated on the necessity of establishing privacy 

policies and working closely with communities through the Building Communities of Trust strategy, 

which fosters communication and understanding between law enforcement and the community. 

Other programs complement and support NSI, such as the Regional Information Sharing System 

(RISS), which helps ensure that state, local, tribal, and federal law enforcement can effectively and 

securely share information to prevent crime and terrorism. 

Enhancing Information Sharing and Interoperability

Clearly, law enforcement must be able to share information vertically—with federal authorities—

and horizontally—with state and local law enforcement agencies. Aside from these agencies’ 

willingness to collaborate, information sharing requires common standards and exchanges to 

create interoperability. BJA supported these needs in FY 2009 through many interrelated initiatives, 

all of which leverage work supported by DOJ’s Global Justice Information Sharing Advisory 

Committee (Global), a federal advisory committee made up of more than 30 national criminal 

justice organizations representing the justice system and many state, local, tribal, and federal agency 

information-sharing leaders. 
vi | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

Taking the feedback and input of Global into consideration, BJA supported the development of 

the National Information Exchange Model, a common-standards, information-sharing model that 

promotes interoperability and efficiency through reusable standards; further developed the Justice 

Reference Architecture, an information-sharing blueprint or road map for justice agencies; greatly 

enhanced efforts to protect privacy and civil liberties as information sharing expands, including 

guidance in developing privacy policies and privacy impact assessments; and worked closely with DHS 

in the development of criminal intelligence fusion center intelligence and information-sharing tools 

and strategies. These efforts resulted in successes in many states and local communities. For example, 

the CONNECT Project has used these national resources to develop an information-sharing portal that 

allows justice professionals in Alabama, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming to share information across 

state lines and with national information-exchange portals in support of local investigative efforts. The 

FBI’s National Data Exchange, which is also built on these national resources, has, according to the 

FBI, “successfully enabled law enforcement officers in North Las Vegas to connect the dots between 

their own investigation and a seemingly unrelated Los Angeles Police Department incident report 

that gave them the information they needed to identify and apprehend a suspect on drug trafficking 

and firearms charges who otherwise may have evaded capture by using different names in different 

states.” Pennsylvania’s Justice Network’s (JNET) integrated justice portal provides a common online 

environment for authorized users to access public safety and criminal justice information. This critical 

information comes from various contributing municipal, county, state, and federal agencies across 

the state. JNET’s secure web portal provides access to more than 35,000 practitioners throughout the 

Commonwealth’s 67 counties as well as federal and state agencies. JNET provides these practitioners 

with the ability to conduct secure investigations in a web-based environment. JNET also was 

developed using these same services and resources as well as JAG funding. These successes, made 

possible by the input of the field through Global, represent not only great gains in information sharing 

and interoperability, but also a new way forward that promotes transparency, accountability, citizencentered government, and ultimately shared governance and shared vision among local, state, tribal, 

and federal justice agencies and organizations.

Supporting Data-Driven and Evidence-Based Initiatives

We know from feedback and our work with justice agencies that merely making more information 

available is only half of the solution. How agencies and organizations use the information provided is 

the key to “smarter” justice. To encourage smarter justice, BJA supported the Smart Policing Initiative, 

which provided funding to 10 law enforcement agencies for the use of data-driven, evidencebased practices to address contemporary public safety problems without sacrificing innovation at 

the local level. At the same time, through the work of the state and local law enforcement-led 

Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council, BJA has continued to develop policy guidance, technical 

assistance, and other tools and resources to assist agencies in implementing intelligence-led policing, 

an approach that involves greater use of criminal intelligence, attends to offenders more than 

offenses, and offers a more targeted, forward-thinking, multijurisdictional, and prevention point of 

view to the business of policing. To ensure such strategies are implemented appropriately, BJA also 

launched the Center for Task Force Leadership and Integrity, which includes online training in integrity 

and civil liberties protection that all JAG-funded law enforcement task force personnel are required 

to complete successfully. Such task forces play a vital role in our ability to fight crime, and BJA is 

committed to ensuring their continued success and their continued integrity. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | vii

Ultimately, our support of smarter justice attempts to ensure that data—information and 

intelligence—guide and drive not just any policing or justice strategy, but ones determined 

scientifically to be effective in reducing or preventing crime. By continuing data-driven efforts and by 

collaborating closely with the National Institute of Justice and other OJP offices and bureaus, BJA is 

embracing the role that science must play in law enforcement and in the justice system overall. Led by 

Assistant Attorney General Robinson, and supported by the Attorney General and President Obama’s 

Administration, BJA promotes and furthers evidence-based practices in our justice system.

Further examples of this commitment include our efforts to support drug courts throughout the 

country and to replicate their success in other key areas including returning offenders (reentry courts), 

veterans treatment courts, mental health courts, and others. At the same time, we continue to 

support the replication of evidence-based strategies and innovative problem-solving approaches at the 

community level. These strategies include community courts and community prosecution, and antiviolence strategies such as the Chicago Ceasefire violence intervention model and the Drug Market 

Intervention (DMI), or “High Point” model, designed to address open-air drug markets and the 

violence associated with these neighborhood problems.

Improving Justice Effectiveness and Efficiency Through Strategic Planning and 

Policy Analysis Combined With Targeted Resources

As part and parcel of this promotion of evidence-based practices, in FY 2009 BJA initiated an intensive 

effort with state criminal justice agencies administering JAG Program funding and the National 

Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) to develop statewide strategic justice plans and apply JAG funding 

and evidence-based practices according to these plans. NCJA was awarded $1.5 million to support 

the states in this effort and to document their successes with strategic planning and evidence-based 

practices. Illinois and Michigan have begun strategic planning, the State of Pennsylvania has been 

successful with a bottoms-up approach to planning centered around local Criminal Justice Advisory 

Boards, and additional states have signaled an intention to undertake similar efforts. 

BJA also has attempted to leverage statewide and local analytical processes to ensure that state and 

local justice systems are operating effectively and efficiently and not creating an unsustainable strain 

on state and local budgets. Through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI), BJA, in collaboration 

with private funders, has supported local efforts in data analysis and policy improvement that have 

reduced state corrections costs while holding offenders accountable and improving public safety. JRI 

projects in 13 states, including Kansas and Texas, have resulted in state savings in the hundreds of 

millions of dollars, and pilot projects underway in several local counties in other states hope to see 

similar results at the conclusion of their JRI pilot projects. JRI holds great promise in bringing together 

the best in data-driven decisionmaking and evidence-based practices to improve justice. These efforts, 

together with BJA’s efforts under the Second Chance Act, including the National Reentry Resource 

Center established in 2009, will help to transform our justice system into one that is more affordable, 

efficient, and effective in creating safer communities, while restoring opportunity to those who have 

been served justice and now look forward to productive, prosocial lives.

Ensuring Fair and Equal Justice

Another key priority for BJA in FY 2009 has been to ensure that justice is truly done. The Attorney 

General has consistently stressed that the crisis in indigent defense reform is a serious concern 

shared by OJP and BJA. As a former prosecutor and judge, however, the Attorney General is also 
viii | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

acutely aware that without adequate funding for the courts, prosecution, problem-solving courts, 

and other innovative, cost-saving alternatives to incarceration, true justice cannot be achieved. In FY 

2009, BJA made substantial investments of grant resources and of training and technical assistance 

to support indigent defense initiatives, including a unique defender hiring initiative and funding for 

representation in certain types of cases. Investments in prosecutor training focused on trial advocacy, 

problem-solving approaches such as community prosecution, and other specialized areas such as gang 

crimes. BJA also supported the development of training, technical assistance, and policy resources 

for state court systems; funded judicial training in many technical and court management areas; 

and supported state court systems in integrating performance into state court operations, thereby 

improving the outcomes and the quality of justice in those court systems. 

Effectively Addressing Drug Abuse and Drug-Related Crime

The success of drug courts in addressing addiction has been a continued source of encouragement 

in FY 2009. At the same time, we recognize from feedback from drug court professionals and 

from research that drug courts are most effective with high-need, high-risk offenders, and that a 

continuum of prevention, intervention, and treatment options is needed to comprehensively address 

drug crime and addiction. To help develop this continuum, BJA supported efforts to increase the 

treatment capacity within the criminal justice system and supported both prevention and enforcement 

efforts as well. The successful implementation of statewide Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs—

now numbering more than 33, with enabling legislation pending or in place in many additional 

states—represents another major initiative to address drug abuse. BJA supported this initiative in 

FY 2009 along with drug abuse education and awareness efforts such as Police And Communities 

Together (PACT) and the expansion of multidisciplinary state alliances to provide training, awareness, 

and advocacy for drug-endangered children.

During FY 2009, the nation was challenged to respond to incidents of drug-related violence along 

the Southwest border of the United States. In response and with the support of Congress, which 

appropriated $30 million for BJA to provide to state and local communities along the Southern border, 

BJA awarded funds to large and small law enforcement agencies as well as High Intensity Drug 

Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task forces addressing these problems. Additionally, BJA funded a number of 

training and technical assistance providers to ensure that law enforcement on the border would have 

access to cutting-edge strategies and technologies to prevent and respond to border-related violence. 

Among these strategies and technologies are those that improve the intelligence and informationsharing efforts within the region.

Honoring America’s Fallen Heroes and Improving Officer Safety

For many years, BJA has been privileged to honor the legacy of New York City Police Officer and 

fallen hero Edward Byrne, the namesake of DOJ’s flagship funding program for state and local 

justice systems. In FY 2009, this privilege continued as did BJA’s efforts to honor America’s fallen law 

enforcement officers, firefighters, and other first responders and to improve officer safety. In FY 2009, 

BJA’s Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Office and programs were revitalized with new resources to 

ensure that the survivors of America’s fallen heroes are supported and honored and that their claims 

for benefits are responded to fairly and efficiently. In addition, BJA significantly enhanced its funding 

support for peer support services for the families, children, and coworkers of America’s fallen officers 

through Concerns of Police Survivors and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | ix

At the same time, BJA continued emphasizing its goal of improving officer safety by ensuring that 

officer safety training is provided to law enforcement nationwide and by providing support for a new 

program, developed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, to monitor and collect data 

on officers’ injuries and analyze that data to pinpoint areas that may need new policies and practices 

to reduce such injuries.

Building Tribal Justice System Capacity

BJA is also proud to acknowledge that great gains were made in supporting tribal nations’ justice 

systems while respecting tribal sovereignty and cultural values. In many of the initiatives described 

in this report, tribes were active participants and contributed to the success of our overall efforts. 

Moreover, in FY 2009, substantial investments were made to improve the infrastructure of tribal 

justice systems, namely $225 million was allocated to assist tribes in planning, renovating, and 

building new corrections facilities, in close coordination with the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the U.S. 

Department of the Interior. Such critical infrastructure support is needed and will improve justice in 

tribal lands, yet we and our tribal partners recognize the importance of providing broader support 

for tribal justice so that tribal justice does not become incarceration dependent to achieve safer 

communities. Through programs such as the Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program, Tribal 

Drug Courts Program, Tribal Courts Assistance Program, and other funding streams, BJA has engaged 

with tribal nations just as we have with our own states and local governments to develop more 

effective and more sustainable justice strategies.

Conclusion

As we move into FY 2010, we bring with us the successes and the lessons learned in FY 2009, many 

of which are highlighted in the following chapters, and many more are featured and highlighted in 

the online or “live” version of this report found on BJA’s web site. The live version of this report also 

features video overviews, additional success stories, live links to the resources mentioned, and online 

access to data on BJA funding by state and locality. The live version is much more than an annual 

report; it is a portal where users can connect, explore in greater depth, and make use of BJA funding, 

programs, and assistance.

Emphasizing partnerships and accountability, encouraging respect for local decisionmaking and 

leadership, and bringing together evidence and innovation in support of local justice systems, the staff 

of the Bureau of Justice Assistance are proud to serve America’s communities and the justice systems 

that help ensure our safety, our security, and our freedoms.

James H. Burch, II

Acting Director

Bureau of Justice Assistance

FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | xi

CONTENTS

Message From the Director.................................................................................. iii

FY 2009 At-A-Glance............................................................................................xiii

FY 2009 Programs

Chapter 1: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009...........................1

Chapter 2: Preventing Crime and Empowering Communities.............................5

Chapter 3: Breaking the Cycles of Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, 

and Crime......................................................................................15

Chapter 4: Managing Offenders......................................................................23

Chapter 5: Protecting and Supporting Victims of Crime ...................................29

Chapter 6: Enhancing Law Enforcement Initiatives...........................................33

Chapter 7: Supporting Innovation in Adjudication ...........................................43

Chapter 8: Countering Terrorism and Planning for Emergencies.......................49

Chapter 9: Addressing Crime and Justice for American Indians 

and Alaska Natives.........................................................................53

Chapter 10: Advancing Information Sharing and Technology 

To Fight Crime................................................................................57

Chapter 11: Honoring America’s Public Safety Officers.......................................73

Chapter 12: Building Capacity ...........................................................................75

Acronyms and Abbreviations..............................................................................83

Appendixes

To view an interactive, searchable database of the FY 2009 grant awards, 

visit http://bja.ncjrs.gov/annualreport.

FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | xiii

FY 2009 AT-A-GLANCE

T

he Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) strengthens the nation’s criminal justice system and

helps America’s local, state, and tribal governments reduce and prevent crime and 

violence. 

In fiscal year (FY) 2009, BJA focused its programmatic and policy efforts on providing a wide range 

of resources to law enforcement, courts, corrections, treatment, justice information sharing, and 

community-based partners to address emerging and chronic crime challenges nationwide, including 

distributing funds appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). 

BJA delivers resources to state, local, and tribal communities and justice agencies with an emphasis 

on partnerships and promoting data-driven and evidence-based practices and policies to improve the 

efficiency and effectiveness of the justice system. At the same time, BJA encourages innovation and 

testing of new strategies to meet the unique needs of the communities it serves.

In FY 2009, BJA focused on several key justice priorities facing America’s communities. These 

priorities addressed the Department of Justice’s strategic goals and objectives and included:

■ Supporting state and local law enforcement in identifying and preventing terrorist incidents.

■ Improving state and local efforts to reduce and prevent violent crime, including gang, gun, 

and drug crime, through data-driven and evidence-based strategies.

■ Ensuring fairness and access to justice by improving the capacity of indigent defense and

America’s courts.

■ Addressing economic and financial crime, including mortgage fraud, consumer fraud, and 

intellectual property crime.

■ Supporting smart and effective approaches to offender reentry and justice reinvestment.

■ Improving the ability of state and local law enforcement and justice agencies to share criminal 

intelligence and promoting interoperability and information sharing, while at the same time 

ensuring respect for privacy rights and civil liberties.
xiv | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

A brief look at a few of the many programs administered by BJA in FY 2009 reveals the following:

Recovery Act funding provided more than $2.5 billion to 3,640 state, local, tribal, for-profit, and 

nonprofit entities. 

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants provided more than $482 million to 50 states, 

the District of Columbia, and 5 territories for local, state, and tribal justice initiatives.

Gang Resistance Education And Training Program funding provided nearly $2.35 million 

for 28 local law enforcement agencies to implement the school-based law enforcement 

officer-instructed classroom curriculum for thousands of elementary and middle school 

students nationwide. 

Justice and Mental Health Partnerships Collaboration funding provided $10 million for 

43 site-based grants to states, units of local government, and tribes.

Adult Drug Court funding of $40 million enabled 93 jurisdictions to develop and implement

drug treatment courts.

Second Chance Act funds of more than $20 million allowed communities to provide critical

services to returning offenders and ensure necessary accountability, and enabled a national partner

to establish a national reentry resource center. 

Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification Program funds totaling 

$7.9 million allowed states to build, implement, and improve their victim notification capacity. 

Drug Market Intervention pilot training was provided to teams from nine jurisdictions to assist

with efforts to eliminate open-air drug markets and associated crime and violence. 

Smart Policing Initiative funding of nearly $4 million will allow 10 law enforcement agencies to 

identify tactics and strategies that are effective, efficient, and economical. 

State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training Program trainers delivered 93 workshops on terrorism 

interdiction, investigation, and prevention to nearly 9,000 law enforcement professionals. 

Tribal Initiatives were bolstered through three programs totaling approximately $11.5 million for 

courts, treatment, and corrections efforts. 

Justice Information Sharing Initiatives assisted states and local communities nationwide in 

overcoming obstacles to sharing information appropriately and securely.

Public Safety Officers’ Benefits were approved for 105 claims to provide benefits to survivors

of America’s fallen heroes.

These and other BJA efforts reflect the dedication, commitment, and successes of a nation of justice 

partners who believe that more can always be done to help reduce and prevent crime and enhance 

the criminal justice system.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | xv

FY 2009 Appropriations for BJA-Administered Programs (in $ millions)

FY 2009 Funding by BJA Program Areas (in $ millions)*

*Does not include Congressionally Selected Awards

Byrne Discretionary 

Grant Program, 

$178.5

Justice Assistance

Grant Program, 

$546

Indian Assistance 

Programs, $25

Payments/

Reimbursements,

$459

Drug Courts 

Program, $40

Other Programs, $203

Supporting Innovations 

in Adjudication, $38.2

Countering Terrorism, $2

Addressing Crime for 

American Indians, $187.5

Breaking the Cycles, $67.75

Honoring America’s Public 

Safety Officers,$69.1

Building Capacity, $14.56

Enhancing Law Enforcement 

Initiatives, $15.8

Preventing Crime & Empowering 

Communities, $9.148

Information Sharing, $92.975

Enhancing Law Enforcement 

Initiatives, $583.757

Managing Offenders, 

$422.349
xvi | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funds: BJA Programs (in $ millions)

Byrne Competitive 

Grant Program, $125

Justice Assistance 

Grant Program, 

$1,989

Assistance to Rural Law 

Enforcement to Combat 

Crime and Drugs, $125

Southern Border, $30

Correctional Facilities 

on Tribal Lands, $225
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 1

C H A P T E R 1

AMERICAN RECOVERY AND

REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009

T

he American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed 

into law by President Obama on February 

17, 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The goals of the 

Recovery Act are to jumpstart the United States 

economy and to create or save millions of jobs. 

The Act is historical in that it is an extraordinary 

response to a crisis unlike any the nation has 

experienced since the Great Depression. It 

includes measures to modernize our nation’s 

infrastructure and protect those in greatest need 

by funding the provision of critical services at the 

state and local levels. The stated purposes of the 

Recovery Act are the following: 

■ Preserve and create jobs. 

■ Promote economic recovery. 

■ Assist those most affected by the recession. 

■ Provide investments needed to increase 

economic efficiency by spurring technological 

advances in health and science. 

■ Invest in transportation, environmental 

protection, and other infrastructure that 

will provide long-term economic benefits.

■ Stabilize state and local government 

budgets in order to minimize and avoid 

reductions in essential services and to

deter counterproductive state and local 

tax increases. 

The Recovery Act places great emphasis on 

accountability and transparency in the use of 

taxpayer dollars. Among other things, a new 

Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board 

and a new web site—www.Recovery.gov—were 

created to provide information to the public, 

giving people access to detailed information 

on grants and contracts made with Recovery 

Act funds.

During FY 2009, the Bureau of Justice Assistance 

(BJA), authorized under the Recovery Act and 

42 United States Code 3751(a), successfully 

awarded grants that released more than $2.5 

billion into the economy, creating jobs and 

providing much-needed resources for states 

and local communities, including funding for 

law enforcement and other criminal justice 

activities. Administering these funds represented 

a significant accomplishment for BJA staff, 

who expeditiously solicited applications and 

awarded funding for over 6,100 grants—more 

than four times the number of grants typically 

administered annually. Within 1 month of 

passage of the Recovery Act, BJA released 

its solicitations for funding to the field and 

conducted outreach to a large group of criminal 

justice agencies that had never before received 

funding from BJA. BJA staff also provided 

excellent customer service, despite the need for 

an elevated level of technical assistance (TA) to 
2 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

help new applicants understand the application 

process. In addition, there was unprecedented 

interest in Recovery Act discretionary funding, 

with some solicitations receiving more than 

1,600 applications. In response, BJA staff 

proactively managed the peer review and award 

recommendation process and awarded all of the 

grants within the annual timeline. 

Anticipating significant reporting needs, BJA 

expanded its newly implemented Performance 

Measurement Tool (PMT) to provide grantees 

with a user-friendly system, gather pertinent 

performance metrics data for all five of the 

Recovery Act programs, and ultimately help 

demonstrate the programs’ effectiveness. 

The tool has allowed BJA to aggregate and 

accurately analyze performance measurement 

data from the grantees. PMT data should be 

available by February 2010. 

With any new system or program, training must 

occur. BJA began training Recovery Act grantees 

on the PMT system through webinars in June 

2009. From late 2009 through early 2010, BJA 

conducted six PMT and three tribal in-person 

trainings to help Recovery Act grantees address 

reporting requirements. 

For more information about Recovery Act 

funding, see the Office of Justice Programs’ 

(OJP) Recovery Act web page at www.ojp.gov/

recovery.

Recovery Act: Edward Byrne 

Memorial Justice Assistance 

Grant Program

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance 

Grant (JAG) Program is the leading source 

of federal justice funding for state and local 

jurisdictions. The program was established 

to streamline the funding process for justicerelated initiatives and the administration of 

these grants. Also established to give agencies 

the flexibility to prioritize and allocate critical 

justice funds where they are needed most, JAG 

allows state, tribal, and local governments to 

support a broad range of efforts to prevent and 

control crime. These program areas include law 

enforcement, prosecution and courts, prevention 

and education, corrections and community 

corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, 

planning, evaluation, technology improvement, 

and crime victim and witness initiatives. 

JAG awards are 4 years in length and 

are distributed up front instead of on a 

reimbursement basis, allowing recipients to 

earn interest on their awards and generate 

additional funding for successful initiatives 

and future projects. Applicants for JAG state 

awards are limited to states, the District of 

Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, 

Guam, and American Samoa. Applicants for 

JAG local awards are limited to units of local 

government that JAG identifies annually on its 

JAG Allocations List. JAG legislation specifies 

that allocations to local governments must be 

based on their share of the total violent crime 

within the state reported to the Federal Bureau 

of Investigation over 3 of the past 10 years. 

In FY 2009, BJA processed 1,420 local and 

56 state applications totaling more than 

$480 million in JAG funding. This constituted 

approximately $318 million awarded to states 

and territories and $165 million awarded to local 

units of government, an increase of nearly $321 

million from FY 2008 ($159 million). In addition 

to regular JAG funding, BJA also administered 

more than $1.9 billion in critical Recovery Act 

JAG funds, processing 3,210 awards to local 

communities, 56 awards to states and territories, 

and some awards to tribes that qualified. 

For more information about JAG funding, 

see www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/jag.html.

For more information about Recovery Act 

JAG funding, see www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/

recoveryJAG/recoveryjag.html.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 3

Act web page at www.ojp.gov/recovery. For a 

list of grants and a detailed description of each 

of the projects funded through the RA Byrne 

Competitive Program, see www.ojp.usdoj.gov/

BJA/funding/FY09Awards.html. 

Recovery Act: Correctional 

Facilities on Tribal Lands 

Discretionary Grant Program

BJA released the Recovery Act: Correctional 

Facilities on Tribal Lands Discretionary Grant 

(CFTL) Program solicitation to assist tribes in 

cost-effectively constructing and renovating 

correctional facilities for the incarceration and 

rehabilitation of juvenile and adult offenders 

subject to tribal jurisdiction. CFTL funds also 

allow tribes to explore community-based 

alternatives to help control and prevent 

jail overcrowding due to alcohol and other 

substance abuse. BJA administers the CFTL 

Program in coordination with the Bureau of 

Indian Affairs and OJJDP. 

There were five categories of awards under this 

grant program: 

■ Category I: Construction of Detention Facilities 

for Adult and Juvenile Offenders.

■ Category II: Construction of Single-Tribe or 

Regional Multi-Purpose Justice Centers. 

■ Category III: Renovation of Existing Detention 

Facilities.

■ Category IV: Construction of Alternative 

Sentencing Facilities. 

■ Category V: National Training and Technical 

Assistance for the Correctional Facilities on 

Tribal Lands Program. This grant focuses 

Recovery Act: Edward Byrne 

Competitive Grant Program

The Recovery Act Edward Byrne Memorial 

Competitive Grant (RA Byrne Competitive) 

Program provides resources to improve the 

capacity of state, local, and tribal justice 

systems and to provide assistance (other than 

compensation) to victims of crime. In FY 2009, 

RA Byrne Competitive funding focused on job 

creation and retention in support of evidencebased and data-driven programs in the following 

areas: 

■ Preventing and reducing violent crime.

■ Providing funding for neighborhood 

probation and parole.

■ Reducing mortgage fraud and crime related 

to vacant properties.

■ Hiring civilian support personnel in law 

enforcement (training staff, analysts, and 

dispatchers).

■ Enhancing forensic and crime scene 

investigations.

■ Improving resources and services for victims 

of crime.

■ Supporting problem-solving courts.

■ Establishing and enhancing national training 

and technical assistance (TTA) partnerships. 

In FY 2009, BJA issued a competitive solicitation 

and awarded 120 new grants across all 8 

funding categories, for a total award amount of 

$125,250,000. An additional $97.5 million was 

transferred to the Office of Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to fund national 

and local youth mentoring programs. Analysis of 

the 120 projects selected for funding indicates 

that approximately 764 jobs will be created and 

49 jobs will be retained.

For more information about the RA Byrne 

Competitive Program, see the OJP Recovery 

Analysis of the 120 projects selected for RA Byrne 

Competitive funding indicates that approximately 764 

jobs will be created and 49 jobs will be retained.
4 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

primarily on those tribes that receive funding 

through this solicitation; however, it can also be 

provided to non-grantee tribes, if requested. 

Applicants for Categories I–IV awards were 

limited to federally recognized American 

Indian tribes, including Alaska Native villages 

and corporations, and authorized intertribal 

consortia. Applicants for Category V awards 

were limited to tribal and nontribal forprofit (commercial) organizations, nonprofit 

organizations, faith-based and community 

organizations, institutions of higher learning, 

and consortia with demonstrated national 

experience in working with tribal representatives 

to plan, renovate, and construct correctional 

facilities that serve local and regional needs.

BJA awarded 20 site-based grants for 

construction and renovation projects totaling 

$219,999,058. Under Category V, one TTA 

award was issued to the Justice Solutions Group 

for $4,487,335. 

For more information about CFTL, see www.ojp.

usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/tribal_correction.html.

Recovery Act: Assistance to 

Rural Law Enforcement to 

Combat Crime and Drugs

BJA released the Recovery Act: Assistance to 

Rural Law Enforcement to Combat Crime and 

Drugs (ARLE) solicitation to help rural state, 

local, and tribal law enforcement agencies 

improve their criminal justice systems, and to 

help their communities prevent and combat 

drug abuse and drug-related crime, while 

simultaneously preserving and creating jobs and 

promoting economic recovery. 

In FY 2009, BJA processed 207 site-based 

awards totaling $117,256,292, and 5 TTA 

awards totaling $7,801,449. TTA grants were 

awarded to Strategic Applications for Society, 

LLC; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; 

the Institute for Intergovernmental Research; 

SEARCH Group Inc.; and the International 

Association of Chiefs of Police. For more 

information about these grants, see www.ojp.

usdoj.gov/BJA/funding/FY09Awards.html.

Recovery Act: State and

Local Law Enforcement 

Assistance Program

The Recovery Act: State and Local Law 

Enforcement Assistance Program: Combating 

Criminal Narcotics Activity Stemming from 

the Southern Border of the United States 

solicitation was created to support state, local, 

and tribal law enforcement agencies located in 

the Southern border region of the country; law 

enforcement agencies outside the region that 

are working in conjunction with High-Intensity 

Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) on criminal 

narcotics activity stemming from the Southern 

border region; and national organizations, 

institutions of higher education, and faith-based, 

community, and regional organizations that are 

engaged in combating criminal narcotics activity 

stemming from the Southern border region. This 

solicitation is critically important because such 

agencies, experiencing severe budget restraints, 

are faced with the prospect of reducing law 

enforcement services and personnel that are 

critical to combating the increasing violence and 

trafficking of drugs in the region. This program 

differs from other programs in that it specifically 

targets criminal narcotics activity within or 

stemming from a geographic region from which 

the vast majority of illicit drugs that enter the 

country originate. 

Under this solicitation, 20 grants were awarded 

totaling $29,639,507, with 1 award of $64,493 

still pending. (One additional award of $992,460 

was made via the Edward Byrne Competitive 

Grant Program to the New Mexico Institute of 

Mining and Technology to provide TTA.) For 

more information about this program and the 

awards made in FY 2009, see www.ojp.usdoj.

gov/BJA/funding/FY09Awards.html.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 5

C H A P T E R 2

PREVENTING CRIME AND

EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES

become involved in VIPS programs in their 

communities; and to help agencies initiate VIPS 

programs. Presently, there are more than 1,950 

registered VIPS programs involving more than 

223,000 volunteers in all 50 states, the District 

of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

In FY 2009, BJA awarded $596,785 to IACP 

for the national VIPS program. A portion of 

the grant funds were used to publish a second 

revision of the resource guide Volunteer 

Programs: Enhancing Public Safety by Leveraging 

Resources, first published in 2003. A handy 

desktop tool for chiefs, sheriffs, and others 

interested in establishing or enhancing a law 

enforcement volunteer program, this guide 

features a wide array of information including 

profiles of volunteer programs, an updated 

resource list, and reading list recommendations. 

IACP also updated a CD–ROM of resources 

that includes the resource guide, a model 

volunteer policy, and program brochures. In 

addition, IACP developed and administered two 

surveys: the Registered Program Analysis and 

a survey on the state of volunteerism, which 

went to the IACP membership. These surveys 

gathered information on promising approaches, 

programmatic challenges, and resource needs, 

and will help IACP to improve services to the 

field. IACP also conducted the “VIPS Basic,” 

“VIPS Advanced,” and “Disaster Preparedness” 

BJA’s crime prevention programs address 

two types of crime risks: factors in a given 

environment that are known to facilitate 

situations in which unlawful behavior is more 

likely to occur, and factors that are known to 

aggravate unlawful behavior by an individual 

or increase the vulnerability of an individual 

to criminal victimization. BJA addresses these 

risks by encouraging communities to partner 

with law enforcement agencies in mitigating 

crime, raising awareness and education of crime 

prevention techniques, and building the capacity 

of organizations with a crime prevention focus.

Volunteers in Police Service

The International Association of Chiefs of Police 

(IACP), in partnership with BJA, manages the 

Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) program, 

which provides support and resources for law 

enforcement agencies interested in developing 

or enhancing a volunteer program and for 

citizens who want to volunteer their time and 

skills to a local law enforcement agency. A 

component of Citizen Corps, which coordinates 

volunteer activities nationally to better prepare 

communities to respond to emergencies, VIPS 

has several goals: to learn about and share 

promising practices in existing VIPS programs; 

to increase the use of volunteers in existing 

programs; to help citizens learn about and 
6 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

trainings—in all, 13 trainings were delivered to 

more than 300 people throughout the country. 

In FY 2009, the VIPS web site, www.police

volunteers.org, received more than 8 million hits. 

This web site is the bedrock of the program 

and serves as a gateway to information such 

as a program directory, a resource library, a 

photo gallery, volunteer profiles, and VIPS to 

VIPS archives (a discussion group for registered 

programs). 

USAonWatch

In 1972, the National Sheriffs’ Association 

(NSA) saw a need for a neighborhood crime 

prevention initiative at the national level and 

created the National Neighborhood Watch 

Program to assist citizens and law enforcement. 

In 2002 NSA, in partnership with the U.S. 

Department of Justice (DOJ), launched the 

USAonWatch program to revitalize the National 

Neighborhood Watch initiative and expand the 

role of its neighborhood programs to include 

disaster preparedness, emergency response, 

and terrorism awareness. In FY 2009, the online 

database of registered programs grew to more 

than 20,000 from 18,500 the preceding year.

The National Neighborhood Watch Program 

primarily provides information, training, 

technical support, and resources for local law 

enforcement agencies and citizens to build their 

capacity to work together in matters important 

to the program. In 2009, BJA awarded NSA 

$400,000 to continue expanding the topics 

covered in the National Neighborhood Watch 

training. Two additional modules were added: 

“Terrorism Awareness and Prevention” and 

“Pandemic Flu.” NSA trainers conducted 11 

courses throughout the country, with more 

than 400 officers from over 280 agencies 

participating. NSA also produced a Native 

American-focused neighborhood watch 

publication that was disseminated to all 

tribal police departments.

Identity Theft

BJA is an active partner in OJP’s Identity 

(ID) Theft Working Group, which gathers 

information on ID theft programs and policies 

on the federal and state levels and contributes 

to the President’s Identity Theft Task Force. The 

workgroup meets periodically to share updates 

on ID theft publications, trainings, and technical 

assistance for the field (e.g., prosecutors and 

computer forensics investigators). 

BJA, in partnership with the National White 

Collar Crime Center (NW3C), provides national 

trainings for agencies involved in preventing, 

investigating, and prosecuting economic and 

high-tech crimes. These trainings also teach 

agencies to support and collaborate with other 

appropriate entities to address homeland 

security initiatives as they relate to these crimes. 

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S 

Akron Block Watch Halts Burglaries

According to the West Side Leader, the Northwest 

Akron Block Watch halted a series of burglaries 

in West Akron, Ohio. The block watch notified 

residents of what to look out for based on police 

officers’ observations of how 10 burglaries had 

been committed. A citizen who knew the burglars’ 

technique recognized them and called the police. 

After a short chase, the suspects were apprehended 

and the burglaries ceased. Both the city council and 

the police department credited the block watch 

program for this success. (Kathleen Folkerth, 2008, 

“Observant Residents Help Police Capture Burglary 

Suspects,” West Side Leader, October 9)
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 7

In addition to training, NW3C (www.nw3c.

org) provides analytical investigative support 

for major ID theft investigations (e.g., NW3C is 

completing its work for an active investigation 

involving approximately 500 known victims from 

more than 25 states). 

BJA also helped fund a Bureau of Justice 

Statistics survey that gathered extensive 

information for a report that will establish 

baseline prevalence rates, the various types of 

ID theft, victim demographics, and other trends.

For more information about the trainings 

offered by NW3C, see www.nw3c.org. 

National Crime

Prevention Council 

McGruff® Neighborhood

The National Crime Prevention Council’s (NCPC) 

McGruff® Neighborhood initiative—comprising 

the McGruff® Club, McGruff® House, and 

McGruff Truck® programs—allows communities 

to access a spectrum of coordinated programs 

that educate children and engage neighbors in 

keeping children safe. McGruff® Neighborhood 

addresses the wide range of issues that threaten 

young people’s safety and also recognizes that 

teaching children about safety in school is not 

enough—they also need support and protection 

when they are in their neighborhoods. During 

the 2008–2009 school year, schools and law 

enforcement agencies in seven communities 

worked together to pilot the McGruff®

Neighborhood initiative, with NCPC providing 

training, resources, and ongoing TA to site 

coordinators. Information and resources for 

the McGruff® Neighborhood can be found 

at www.ncpc.org.

In School: McGruff® Club

Schools are the cornerstones of children’s 

neighborhoods. The McGruff® Club program 

engages elementary schools in teaching children 

about home and neighborhood safety, bullying 

and conflict resolution, drug abuse, and 

Internet safety. McGruff® Club features a new 

curriculum, piloted in 2008–2009 and scheduled 

for release in 2010. In this curriculum:

■ Scripted lessons guide instructors through 

classroom discussions and activities for 

children in grades 1–4. 

■ Activities that incorporate proven teaching 

strategies develop children’s critical thinking 

and communication skills.

■ Lessons build upon each other so children 

enhance their skills as they age through 

the program.

■ Knowledge is reinforced through service 

projects in which children share what they 

have learned with others. 

Educators, counselors, school administrators, 

law enforcement officers, and youth service 

providers can implement McGruff® Club in just 

30 minutes per week for 16 weeks in school, or 

as part of an afterschool program or summer 

camp. During the 2008–2009 school year, 7 

elementary schools piloted new McGruff® Club 

lessons and a total of nearly 1,000 children 

(grades 1–4) learned to manage bullying, resolve 

conflicts, avoid drugs, and stay safe at home, 

in their neighborhoods, and online through 

McGruff® Club. 

In the Community: McGruff® House and 

McGruff® Truck Programs

Keeping children safe does not end at 

the schoolyard. The safety skills children 

learn through McGruff® Club need to be 

supplemented with a network of caring adults 

who can help them if they encounter danger 

in their neighborhoods. McGruff® Houses 

(residences) and McGruff® Trucks (utility or 

municipal vehicles) offer temporary havens for 

children who find themselves in frightening or 

dangerous situations. The National McGruff 

House® Network supports these programs. 
8 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

McGruff® Houses provide a safety network for 

children and reduce the risk that children will be 

victimized. Children learn that they can go to 

specially marked McGruff® Houses, which might 

be houses, townhouses, apartments, or mobile 

homes, any time they sense danger. McGruff®

House volunteers call the child’s parents or 

appropriate authorities if a child is lost or has 

a medical emergency, reassure the child if he 

or she is frightened, and report crimes and 

suspicious activities. McGruff® House volunteers 

must consent to a background check.

McGruff® Trucks are utility or municipal trucks 

that children and other individuals can flag 

down when they feel threatened or in danger. 

The driver then calls for help. McGruff® Trucks 

are identified by their company’s logo and are 

marked with special McGruff® Truck stickers. 

Participating companies benefit by offering a 

valuable public service that builds goodwill in 

the communities they serve. McGruff® Truck 

program participants follow the same “do’s 

and don’ts” as McGruff® House volunteers. 

During the 2008–2009 school year, sites 

promoted the McGruff® House Program 

through a variety of venues, such as back-toschool nights, community meetings, tables 

at local shopping malls, and articles in local 

newspapers. Through presentations at schools 

or community centers, children learned how to 

approach McGruff® Houses and McGruff® Trucks 

if they are frightened or need help. Seven sites 

recruited and established McGruff® Houses. 

National Children and 

Youth Safety Campaign

NCPC’s National Children and Youth Safety 

Campaign offers a continuum of programs 

that educate and engage young people from 

elementary school through high school. It 

provides tools that parents can use to enhance 

the continuum at home, improve their ability to 

talk with their children, and participate in local 

safety efforts.

Through the McGruff® Club program, children 

in grades 1–4 build skills for managing bullying, 

conflicts, and dangerous situations in their 

neighborhoods and online, whereas the 

McGruff® Readers program brings the character 

of McGruff® to life for young children and 

teaches them the words to say and actions 

to take when they encounter bullying, drugs, 

and other dangerous situations. Activity books 

reinforce the safety messages communicated by 

the McGruff® Readers. 

The Community Works curriculum, available 

on NCPC’s web site (www.ncpc.org), teaches 

youth to protect themselves from alcohol and 

drug abuse, online dangers, and harassment. 

It provides middle and high school students 

with lessons on more than 30 topics, including 

assault, gangs, property crimes, dating violence, 

hate crimes, and the role of law enforcement in 

the community. 

NCPC also promotes effective strategies 

for engaging parents in school safety and 

community crime prevention efforts, specifically 

through their participation in the Be Safe and 

Sound in School (B3S) and McGruff® House 

programs. B3S (discussed in further detail on 

page 9) brings together school administrators, 

students, law enforcement officers, and parents 

to assess school safety and implement projects 

to make schools safer. The McGruff® House 

Program encourages parents and neighbors to 

provide safe havens for children in frightening or 

dangerous situations and helps them establish 

their homes as places of refuge. 

In addition to these general programs and 

resources for young people and parents, the 

National Children and Youth Safety Campaign 

also has focused considerable attention on 

cyberbullying. The campaign has allowed the 

media to continue using NCPC’s public service 

announcements about cyberbullying and has 

posted new web content for young people and 

adults to raise their awareness of this issue. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 9

Children and Youth Safety Campaign materials 

produced in FY 2009 include two new McGruff®

Readers for third- and fourth-grade students 

that focus on conflict resolution, alcohol and 

drug prevention, safety in real and online 

communities, and appreciating diversity. With 

six new games for children and tips on sexting, 

the McGruff® web site, www.McGruff.org, had 

nearly 1 million visits during the year.

In addition to using the media to reach parents, 

NCPC conducted a webinar for reporters, 

distributed a press release, and engaged its 

president in a radio tour with 13 interviews 

aired by more than 8,000 stations and network 

affiliates, thereby reaching more than 23.5 

million listeners. Key areas broadcasting the 

interviews included Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 

Chicago, Illinois; and Washington, D.C. 

For more information, see www.ncpc.org and 

www.McGruff.org.

Be Safe and Sound in School

B3S is a capacity-building crime prevention 

initiative developed and tested by NCPC 

and BJA. B3S is designed to educate middle 

school students on the elements of school 

safety; engage middle school administrators, 

parents, students, law enforcement, and other 

community members in making schools safer; 

and facilitate the development of strategic plans 

to reduce crime in schools. To implement the 

program, the B3S action team assesses a school’s 

social and emotional climate and identifies 

flaws in security equipment and procedures, as 

well as spaces that may be conducive to crime. 

The team invites community representatives 

to participate in a school safety and security 

forum for prioritizing the most critical safety 

and security problems and deciding what to do 

about them. The team then develops an action 

plan, which guides the school safety and security 

implementation process throughout the school 

year.

In FY 2009, 11 middle schools successfully 

implemented B3S. These schools employed 

a variety of techniques to address violence 

and fear and to promote a climate of respect, 

such as installing security cameras and visitor 

check-in systems, conducting a parents’ night 

out or regular safety walk-throughs, developing 

a public service announcement (PSA), and 

engaging in team building and leadership 

training. NCPC plans to expand the number of 

schools using B3S and to revise the program 

implementation guidebook to incorporate 

lessons learned and case studies.

Rapid Response Radio Public 

Service Announcements

BJA and NCPC developed the rapid response 

PSAs for radio to give local law enforcement 

and the media an opportunity to respond 

quickly with prevention tips and information 

when major crime issues are happening in their 

community. The messages help citizens learn 

how to take action and get involved to make 

their neighborhoods safer places to live and 

thrive. Each of the 17 PSAs addresses timely 

topics such as home invasion, vacant property 

crime, gang violence, school shootings, crimes 

against seniors, sexual assault, and property 

theft. 

Highlights of the Rapid Response program for 

FY 2009 include the following:

■ The Rapid Response initiative received 

$46,148,900 in donated media—$6 million 

more than an average PSA campaign. 

■ NCPC promoted the Rapid Response initiative 

in a March 2009 Catalyst newsletter about the 

PSAs and outreach materials that complement 

the radio spots.

■ NCPC promoted the Rapid Response initiative 

at the National Association of Broadcasters 

(NAB) April 2009 convention of 85,000 

attendees. NCPC gave a presentation once a 

day at the exhibit booth about the initiative 
10 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

and the other products and services NCPC has 

for the media. An NCPC member also was 

interviewed for NAB convention TV.

■ NCPC completed a broadcasters’ guidebook, 

Protecting What Matters to You: NCPC–NAB 

Guidebook for Broadcasters, that was 

given to more than 175 broadcasters at the 

NAB Radio Show in September 2009, was 

distributed to the remaining public service 

broadcast membership later that month, and 

is available to download at www.nab.org/AM/

ASPCode/SpotCenter/documents/guidebook_

RapidResponse.pdf. 

■ NCPC created live announcer scripts and a 

log-in on its web site (www.ncpc.org) to allow 

law enforcement agencies to download and 

personalize the announcer scripts and PSAs. 

■ Through a BJA-funded project that supports 

crime prevention capacity building for 

several cities (including Washington, D.C., 

and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), NCPC’s 

community outreach team developed 

complementary posters, palm cards, and 

fliers using the tips and information from 

the radio PSAs. 

Each time a city noted a rise in a crime that 

related to one of the topics in the Rapid 

Response PSA initiative, NCPC sent a media 

alert to the local law enforcement agency and 

media about the relevant PSA and information 

immediately available for broadcast to the 

community. For example, when a series of home 

invasions hit a Maryland community, NCPC 

sent an alert that generated four media stories 

regarding how to protect one’s home and family. 

NCPC generated 21 stories in FY 2009 with 

similar media alerts. Each story provided a more 

indepth look at the issue, prompted interview 

opportunities for NCPC and its partners, and 

increased the use of the prerecorded PSAs.

NCPC and BJA will continue to promote the 

PSAs and outreach materials to law enforcement 

agencies, and will post them on YouTube. For 

more information, see www.ncpc.org/topics/

by-audience/law-enforcement/rapid-response. 

Cities Capacity Building Project

A partnership of NCPC and BJA, the Cities 

Capacity Building Project provides TTA to 

targeted cities to help them prevent and reduce 

crime and increase collaboration between law 

enforcement and the community. The services 

delivered are based on the needs of the local 

law enforcement agency and its public safety 

goals. With the economic downturn straining 

local resources, this approach has allowed 

NCPC to provide community outreach support 

when needed, training when law enforcement 

agencies had limited or no training resources, 

and assistance to law enforcement agencies 

in filling gaps in service delivery caused by 

emerging crime trends or budget cuts.

In FY 2009, the Cities Capacity Building Project 

provided 7 trainings to more than 1,000 

participants from 8 different law enforcement 

agencies and their community partners on 

various crime prevention programs and topics, 

including school safety, community partnerships, 

crime prevention through environmental design, 

and senior safety. More than 25 TA sessions 

were held with 3 law enforcement agency 

partners to build their crime prevention capacity, 

with an emphasis on community engagement 

strategies and NCPC programs for children 

and youth such as bullying and cyberbullying 

prevention, school violence prevention, B3S, 

and the McGruff® Club.

Twenty-one crime prevention tools in various 

formats and languages were developed and 

promoted nationally through newsletters, online 

networks, and broadcast media. Four media 

and outreach campaigns were implemented in 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, 

D.C., reaching tens of thousands of community 

participants. Three additional campaigns are 

being planned in Philadelphia; Baltimore, 

Maryland; and D.C. Many of the printed tools 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 11

such as newsletters complement the radio PSAs, 

thereby providing law enforcement agencies 

with a multimedia capacity to respond to local 

crime trends. Ten of these print tools were made 

available in Spanish and English, and 11 were 

translated into 5 additional languages to help 

law enforcement agencies engage and respond 

to crime trends in populations with limited 

English language proficiency. 

Celebrate Safe Communities

Safe communities are the result of law 

enforcement working with residents as equal 

partners in preventing crime. In recognition of 

this principle, BJA, NCPC, and NSA developed 

the Celebrate Safe Communities (CSC) program, 

which brings together law enforcement, 

community groups, and citizens to strengthen 

partnerships, promote crime prevention, and 

kick off Crime Prevention Month. Communities 

large and small can use web-based resources 

to help them hold public safety events and 

celebrate their successes in maintaining a safe 

community. Communities may hold their events 

at any time during the year, but the program 

encourages them to hold the events in October 

to help promote Crime Prevention Month—

in 2009, all the registered sites held events in 

October. Events can bring together residents of 

a neighborhood, a homeowners association, a 

community, or even an entire county. In addition 

to law enforcement agencies, CSC events can 

include fire service, emergency medical service, 

and emergency management personnel. CSC 

benefits public safety agencies and community 

groups by designating a day each year to bring 

everyone together to strengthen partnerships 

and exchange safety ideas. In FY 2009, more 

than 100 sites in 34 states and the District 

of Columbia registered for CSC and each of 

those sites received a package of information 

that included items such as crime prevention 

brochures and other promotional materials. 

More information and reproducible materials are 

available at www.celebratesafecommunities.org. 

During FY 2009, this web site received more 

than 6,400 hits. CSC’s plans for the site include 

enabling easier communication among parties 

between registered events and adding resources 

about establishing local partnerships with 

private corporations (e.g., to assist in collecting 

and disposing of excess household prescription 

and over-the-counter drugs, and with mass 

shredding of household personal papers).

Campus Safety

Major Cities Chiefs’ Campus 

Security Guidelines

Multiagency coordination is always complicated 

for law enforcement, but when one of those 

agencies is responsible for safety on college 

campuses, there are unique challenges. In 2007, 

the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCC) 

approached BJA with a new and bold idea to 

address rising violence on campus by improving 

the coordination between local and campus law 

enforcement to better protect students. In FY 

2009, as part of this project, MCC published 

its Campus Security Guidelines to help law 

enforcement agencies improve their ability to 

prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover 

from critical incidents on campus. This guide 

encourages agencies to develop written policies 

and formal agreements between local and 

campus law enforcement departments to 

enable coordinated and effective action. 

Citizen Involvement in Campus Safety

The goal of the Citizen Involvement in School 

Safety project is to enhance the capacity of 

law enforcement to incorporate citizens into 

their school safety plans. It is important to note 

that “school” includes secondary schools and 

colleges and universities. Building on IACP’s 

VIPS program, this project seeks to: 

■ Determine the state of citizen involvement in 

school safety initiatives. 
12 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

■ Identify leading citizen-involved school safety 

initiatives. 

■ Develop resources to promote the use 

of leading practices by law enforcement 

agencies. 

■ Disseminate products widely to the law 

enforcement community. 

In FY 2007, BJA awarded IACP nearly $500,000 

for the Citizen Involvement in School Safety 

project. Under this award, a series of focus 

groups that included representatives from the 

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

(COPS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 

and leaders of various IACP committees were 

held to glean successes, challenges, and leading 

practices; document how law enforcement is 

engaged in school safety; and examine policy 

and process implications for such partnerships. 

Participants introduced specific campus safetyrelated issues and trends around their regions 

and described what responses and results they 

would like to see in place. They also identified 

a document IACP developed and published 

nearly 10 years ago—Guide for Preventing 

and Responding to School Violence—as a 

particularly useful, but now outdated, resource. 

IACP received approval from BJA to revise and 

disseminate, under the auspices of this grant, 

a second edition of the guide. That edition, 

published in 2009, is available online at www.

theiacp.org/PublicationsGuides/ResearchCenter/

Publications/tabid/299/Default.aspx?id=88&v=1. 

Also as part of the project, in 2009 IACP 

initiated and completed production of 

Community Involvement in Campus Safety,

an 11-minute video profiling law enforcement 

volunteer programs on three university 

campuses: the University of Alaska, Anchorage; 

Lehigh University in Pennsylvania; and California 

State University, San Bernardino. IACP plans 

to develop two distinct toolkits tailored to 

campus law enforcement and law enforcement 

agencies serving secondary schools. The toolkits 

will include sample materials and resources for 

implementing a VIPS program in a school or 

campus environment.

Creating the Framework for Increasing the 

Professionalism of Campus Safety Officers

In 2007, BJA awarded the University of Illinois 

at Chicago more than $214,000 to develop 

and deliver a series of training curricula 

geared toward enhancing the professionalism 

of campus safety officers. The project is a 

collaborative effort of the Institute for Public 

Safety Partnerships (IPSP) at the University 

of Illinois at Chicago, the university’s police 

department, the Illinois Campus Law 

Enforcement Association, the Mid-Atlantic 

Regional Community Policing Institute, and the 

Western Regional Policing Institute. The project 

began by culling an advisory board from Illinois’ 

leaders in campus safety as well as the field’s 

nationally recognized experts who assisted in 

updating existing curricula as well as identifying 

gaps and training needs and providing general 

oversight to the project.

IPSP also sought the input of campus 

administrators and leaders of student 

organizations to ensure that the education and 

training designed would reflect the diversity 

present on college and university campuses. 

This training was initially developed and pilot 

tested in Illinois, Maryland, and Oregon, but is 

adaptable to other jurisdictions as well.

In 2009, the project developed a set of courses 

that are building blocks to more sophisticated 

training related to responding to terrorist and 

other critical incidents. The curriculum will 

enhance the professionalism of officers through 

indepth training in areas such as ethics, integrity, 

diversity, and problem solving. It also will better 

prepare officers for their day-to-day interactions 

with the diversity of people they encounter 

on campuses. An additional benefit of the 

curriculum will be its identification of areas 

in which communication is lacking between 

campus security and other departments and 

organizations on campus.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 13

Gang Resistance Education

And Training Program 

BJA’s Gang Resistance Education And Training 

(G.R.E.A.T.) Program is a school-based classroom 

curriculum taught by law enforcement 

officers. Its primary objective is prevention, 

and it is intended as an immunization against 

delinquency, youth violence, and gang 

membership. G.R.E.A.T. lessons focus on risk 

factors leading to gang involvement. Uniformed 

officers teach students to set positive goals, 

resist negative pressures, resolve conflicts 

without violence, and understand how gangs 

impact the quality of their lives. The G.R.E.A.T. 

Program (www.great-online.org) consists of 

four components: a 13-week middle school 

curriculum, a 6-week elementary school 

curriculum, a summer program, and training for 

families. Five regional centers provide training to 

sworn law enforcement officers on how to teach 

the G.R.E.A.T. curriculum in elementary and 

middle schools throughout the country. 

In FY 2009, BJA made nearly $2.35 million in 

funding available to 28 local law enforcement 

agencies in 15 states so they could deliver 

the G.R.E.A.T. Program. BJA’s training 

partner, the Institute for Intergovernmental 

Research, certified an additional 610 officers 

at 24 G.R.E.A.T. officer trainings to teach 

the G.R.E.A.T. Program in elementary and 

middle schools, and 143 G.R.E.A.T. officers to 

facilitate the G.R.E.A.T. Families component 

at 8 G.R.E.A.T. Families trainings. (Local 

agencies continue to establish connections with 

school officials, faith-based and community 

organizations, and family and juvenile court 

agencies to promote the “families” approach 

in their communities.) Through their use of 

G.R.E.A.T. workbooks in FY 2009, officers 

indicated that:

■ 503 local law enforcement agencies are 

teaching the G.R.E.A.T. Program.

■ 1,410 officers and other law enforcement 

professionals are teaching the G.R.E.A.T. 

Program in elementary and middle schools.

■ 153,876 elementary students graduated from 

the program in 2,304 elementary schools.

■ 272,823 middle school students graduated 

from the program in 3,071 middle schools.

FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 15

C H A P T E R 3

BREAKING THE CYCLES

OF MENTAL ILLNESS,

SUBSTANCE ABUSE, AND CRIME 

cross-system collaboration for individuals with 

mental illnesses or co-occurring mental health 

and substance abuse disorders. In FY 2009, 

funding was increased to $10 million, which BJA 

used in part to fund 43 site-based awards under 

JMHCP; of these, 10 were planning grants, 21 

were planning and implementation grants, and 

12 were expansion grants. These grants were 

made in 30 states to grantees representing 26 

counties, 10 states, 5 localities, and 2 tribes. BJA 

also awarded a cooperative agreement to the 

Council of State Governments Justice Center 

(Justice Center) to provide FY 2009 grantees 

with TTA under the Justice and Mental Health 

Collaboration Training and Technical Assistance 

Program and comprehensive resources and 

services to eligible but unfunded JMHCP 

applicants under the Justice and Mental 

Health Collaboration State-Based Capacity 

Building Program. 

In FY 2009, grantees who received awards 

in previous years began to show their 

accomplishments. For example, the New Jersey 

Department of Corrections piloted training in 

trauma-informed care and reentry life skills at 

New Jersey’s Edna Mahan Correctional Facility 

for Women. New York City’s Department of 

Correction and Department of Health and 

Mental Hygiene created a jail diversion program 

for adult misdemeanor offenders with mental 

illnesses. Justice Center staff and expert 

BJA oversees numerous initiatives to assist 

communities in planning, implementing, 

and enhancing criminal justice system 

diversion and intervention for offenders with 

substance abuse disorders, mental health 

disorders, and co-occurring substance abuse 

and mental health disorders. BJA supports crosssystem collaboration and partnerships among 

the criminal justice system and substance abuse 

and mental health agencies. It also supports 

states and local and tribal communities via 

grants, TTA, and policy development to help 

them address substance abuse and mental illness 

when they are the root or contributing cause 

to criminal behavior. BJA provides this support 

in contexts such as first encounters with law 

enforcement, adjudication, incarceration, and 

reentry. BJA helps communities stem illegal drug 

production, sales, and abuse; track prescriptions 

for controlled substances to prevent fraud and 

abuse; and assist children who are endangered 

by drug manufacturing, sales, and abuse.

Justice and Mental 

Health Partnerships

The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime 

Reduction Act, signed into law in 2004 and 

reauthorized in 2008, created the Justice and 

Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) 

to increase public safety through innovative 
16 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

of Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, New Hampshire, 

Ohio, and Wisconsin.

In partnership with BJA, the Justice Center 

hosted a national TTA event in July 2009 entitled 

“Smart Responses in Tough Times: Achieving 

Better Outcomes for People with Mental Illness 

Involved in the Justice System.” Targeting 

practitioners and policymakers on the front lines 

of developing and implementing collaborative 

criminal justice and mental health initiatives in 

times of constrained budgets, this event brought 

together 460 attendees. These included OJP’s 

Acting Assistant Attorney General; BJA’s Acting 

Director; and directors from OJJDP, the National 

Institute of Corrections (NIC), the Center for 

Mental Health Services (CMHS), and the Center 

for Substance Abuse and Treatment (CSAT).

Finally, in FY 2009, BJA renewed its partnership 

with OJJDP, NIC, CMHS, and CSAT. Through a 

memorandum of understanding, this partnership 

provides a framework for coordinating 

criminal justice and mental illness efforts 

and provides a foundation for developing a 

comprehensive, cohesive strategy to maximize 

federal government resources. In FY 2009, this 

federal partnership met regularly, compared 

funding objectives, determined how future 

federal partner TA and grant dollars could 

most effectively be invested and leveraged, and 

helped develop the agenda for the July 2009 

national TTA event.

Law Enforcement/Mental 

Health Partnership Program

BJA, the Justice Center, and the Police Executive 

Research Forum (PERF) established the Law 

Enforcement/Mental Health Partnership 

Program, which provides resources for law 

enforcement leaders and community partners 

to develop and enhance initiatives that make it 

easier for law enforcement agencies to connect 

people with mental illnesses to much-needed 

services, and to minimize the likelihood that 

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S 

Mental Health Courts Bring 

Healing, Stability 

The Deschutes County Mental Health Court in 

central Oregon received an expansion grant to 

increase access to services for its target population: 

moderate- to high-risk adults who have pled 

guilty to a misdemeanor or felony crime, have a 

diagnosed mental illness or dual diagnosis of mental 

illness and substance abuse, and demonstrate a 

willingness to participate in the program as an 

alternative to incarceration in the county’s jail facility. 

The court has documented an 85 percent graduation 

rate and 13 percent recidivism rate since the 

program started in 2002. 

One case that illustrates the program’s impact is that 

of Suzanne, a client with severe depression and posttraumatic stress disorder who had been arrested for 

unlawful use of a weapon. By entering the program, 

Suzanne was able to access needed treatment 

that she could not afford on her own. She reports 

that she has been clean from alcohol for almost a 

year, reconciled with her daughter, improved her 

relationship with her partner, and achieved mental 

health stability. Suzanne graduated in November 

2009; her charge was dismissed, so she leaves the 

program with a clear record.

consultants also developed and implemented 

TA plans for 23 JMHCP grantees who received 

awards in previous years; conducted site visits to 

8 planning and implementation grantees and 7 

planning grantees; and continued to respond to 

questions, identify useful resources, and connect 

grantees to peers and experts in the field. Justice 

Center staff also continued their progress on 

specific TA projects with the non-grantee states 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 17

encounters with law enforcement will result 

in injury or death. To support this program, in 

FY 2009 the Justice Center drafted “Tailoring 

Responses to Jurisdictional Needs and 

Circumstances” (provisional title) as the third 

component of the Improving Responses to 

People with Mental Illnesses series of resources 

for law enforcement practitioners and their 

community partners. This publication will help 

law enforcement personnel determine the best 

possible model of law enforcement response for 

meeting their local needs. Previously developed 

resources in the series are The Essential 

Elements of a Specialized Law EnforcementBased Program and Strategies for Effective Law 

Enforcement Training. The third resource will be 

available in FY 2010.

In FY 2009, BJA, the JEHT Foundation, and the 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration funded the IACP to host the 

National Policy Summit—“Building Safer 

Communities: Improving Police Response to 

Persons with Mental Illness”—in May 2009. 

Participants included diverse leaders from law 

enforcement, community and family members, 

persons with mental illnesses, mental health 

practitioners, advocates, and researchers. The 

goal of the summit was to begin a dialogue that 

would result in recommendations for local, state, 

tribal, and federal organizations to improve 

the safety of community members and law 

enforcement officers when responding to crisis 

calls involving a person with a mental illness. 

In FY 2010, a final report that includes these 

recommendations will be released.

Methamphetamine Precursor 

Chemical Control

The Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 

2005 requires retailers selling pseudoephedrine 

and ephedrine products—precursor chemicals 

to methamphetamine (meth) production—to 

maintain a log of all sales. State and local 

jurisdictions are implementing electronic tracking 

systems to access and use this sales information 

to support law enforcement’s fight against 

meth production and use. BJA released the FY 

2009 Methamphetamine Precursor Tracking 

Training and Technical Assistance Program 

solicitation to support efforts to set up meth 

precursor tracking systems and to encourage 

and support planning for interconnectivity 

among state systems. BJA made an award to the 

Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) to 

provide proactive, comprehensive, user-friendly 

TTA services; develop uniform protocols for 

assessing and delivering TTA, as well as tracking, 

evaluation, and followup; use TTA strategies 

that include developing tools and resources for 

grantees, such as distance learning, peer-to-peer 

consultations, onsite TA, and ongoing TA by 

phone and e-mail; and plan and host national 

meetings. IIR staff will commence these activities 

in FY 2010. 

Preventing 

Methamphetamine Use

Meth360, a BJA-funded project with the 

Partnership for a Drug-Free America (the 

Partnership), allows law enforcement agencies 

to collaborate with other stakeholders to 

educate their communities about the dangers 

of meth and to provide information, tools, and 

resources to educate and empower concerned 

citizens to address this threat, as well as other 

drug threats, in a proactive and informed way. 

All of the prevention program materials are 

free and available on the Meth360 web site, 

www.drugfree.org/Meth360, where interested 

stakeholders can learn about programs in 

their areas, become facilitators, and download 

training tools and resources. By the end of 

FY 2009, more than 25,000 people had been 

trained through the Meth360 project, more than 

1,000 presenters had been trained in person, 

and more than 1,200 presenters were registered 

online. Not only is the program implemented 
18 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

with hands-on TA in the 10 states involved in 

the program in FY 2008, but presenters from 

an additional 37 states and from Australia, 

Belgium, Honduras, New Zealand, South Africa, 

Thailand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom are 

also registered.

The Partnership, supported by a BJA grant, 

developed two additional trainings in FY 2009. 

“Parents: You Matter” educates parents about 

why kids use drugs and alcohol and teaches 

them how to spot drug and alcohol abuse and 

what to do when they discover it. “WreckED” 

encourages teenagers to think about and discuss 

their own and their friends’ behavior regarding 

alcohol and other drugs. 

Prescription Drug

Monitoring Program

Through the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug 

Monitoring Program (HRPDMP), BJA assists 

states that want to prevent and detect the 

diversion and abuse of pharmaceutical and 

controlled substances by helping them plan, 

establish, or enhance a prescription drug 

monitoring program (PDMP). The objectives 

of these programs include building a data 

collection and analysis system, enhancing the 

ability of existing programs to analyze and 

use collected data, facilitating the exchange 

of collected prescription data between states, 

and assessing the efficiency and effectiveness 

of the programs funded under this initiative. 

Under BJA’s leadership, the number of PDMPs 

has grown. Prior to FY 2002, when BJA was first 

appropriated funding for HRPDMP, 15 states 

had operational PDMPs. By the end of FY 2009, 

33 states had operational PDMPs (i.e., they are 

able to receive and distribute PDMP information 

to authorized users), and 6 states and 1 U.S. 

territory have enacted legislation establishing 

PDMPs that have yet to become operational. 

In FY 2009, with the $7 million appropriated for 

HRPDMP, BJA awarded 15 new grants to states 

that were planning, implementing, or enhancing 

a PDMP. Grantees who received funding in FY 

2008 realized accomplishments such as the 

following during FY 2009: 

■ Florida held a summit on PDMPs with more 

than 100 attendees and conducted more 

than 10 stakeholder meetings throughout the 

state. As a result of this outreach, the state 

passed legislation establishing a PDMP and 

will begin plans for implementation in 2010. 

■ The Indiana PDMP team received the 2009 

Governor’s Public Service Achievement 

Award for their accomplishments with the 

state’s PDMP, known as Indiana Scheduled 

Prescription Electronic Collection and Tracking 

(INSPECT). In 2009, INSPECT completed 

approximately 1,500 reports per day for more 

than 6,500 registered users.

■ The California Department of Justice manages 

California’s PDMP, known as the Controlled 

Substances Utilization Review and Evaluation 

System (CURES), which launched its online 

system in September 2009. CURES enables 

preregistered health care practitioners, 

pharmacists, law enforcement agencies, 

and regulatory boards to access patients’ 

prescription histories 24 hours a day. Special 

features include notification alerts and special 

bulletins disseminated to select registrants; 

capture of prescriber reports of prescription 

theft and loss; a web application for reporting 

direct dispense controlled substances data; 

and an automated error correction feature 

for all incoming reports of controlled 

substance data. 

BJA also supplemented an FY 2008 competitive 

award to Brandeis University so it could 

continue to provide TTA services for HRPDMP. 

BJA, Brandeis University, and the Alliance of 

States with Prescription Monitoring Programs 

partnered to provide TTA through the Training 

and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC). 

TTAC kicked off its support by developing a 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 19

web site (www.pmpalliance.org), creating 

and distributing 3 quarterly newsletters, and 

coordinating TA in response to 102 requests 

from 32 states and various federal agencies 

and other national stakeholders. TTAC hosted 

4 regional meetings involving more than 80 

representatives from 39 states, including those 

that currently have no PDMP legislation in 

place, to discuss key topics such as interstate 

sharing efforts, an analysis of the BJA/PDMP 

performance measures, and discussions on 

data accuracy. TTAC also successfully hosted 

the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring 

Program National Meeting. Attendees included 

representatives of several federal agencies, state 

PDMP representatives, TTAC staff, consultants, 

vendors, and pharmacy representatives. More 

than 120 people attended, representing 34 

states. Welcoming remarks were offered by BJA’s 

Acting Director, the Director of the Office of 

National Drug Control Policy, and Congressman 

Harold Rogers, who received an appreciation 

award for his support of PDMPs and the BJA 

grant program. 

Finally, to detect and prevent doctor shopping 

across state borders, state PDMPs and BJA have 

invested significant time and funding on the 

PDMP Information Exchange (PMIX) Project, 

which has resulted in the development of a 

prototype system that proves the value of a 

shared hub server used to centrally facilitate 

and broker PMIX exchanges between states. 

An important achievement for BJA in FY 2009 

was the successful testing of a prototype PDMP 

hub using simulated patient data exchanged 

between the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy and 

the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family 

Services. Next steps include the exchange of 

actual patient data (expected in early FY 2010) 

and increasing the number of participating 

states. The Alliance of States with Prescription 

Monitoring Programs has become a full partner 

in the project as well and is expected to assume 

a stronger leadership role in the oversight and 

governance of the project in the near future.

Drug Courts

BJA’s Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant 

Program provides financial and technical 

assistance to state, local, and tribal governments 

to develop and implement drug treatment courts 

for nonviolent, substance-abusing offenders. As 

of June 30, 2009, the United States had more 

than 2,300 of these courts, including adult, 

juvenile, family, and tribal drug courts. In FY 

2009, BJA used its $40 million appropriation 

to make 93 site-based awards for adult drug 

courts—21 for implementation grants, 63 

for enhancement grants, and 9 for statewide 

enhancement grants.1

 Of this appropriation, 

$4 million funded TTA provided by American 

University (AU), the Center for Court Innovation, 

and the National Drug Court Institute. With this 

funding, BJA also completed the entire drug 

court TTA portfolio and made awards to support 

programs that will commence in FY 2010. 

FY 2009 TTA accomplishments include the 

following:

■ Under the Drug Court Planning Initiative, BJA 

provided funding for 29 drug court teams 

to be trained on starting up a new drug 

court, including how to establish policies and 

procedures and how to plan for sustainability.

■ Two training sessions were conducted on the 

appropriate use of incentives and sanctions in 

the drug court setting, and one publication 

was delivered to the field (Drug Court Review,

vol. 6, no. 2).

■ The BJA National Drug Court Training and 

Technical Assistance Program provided training 

sessions at 24 statewide drug court training 

events. 

1

 Through funds transferred from BJA, OJJDP provided training and technical and financial assistance to juvenile and family 

drug courts.
20 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

■ One TTA provider, the National Drug Court 

Institute, responded to 25 onsite TA requests 

and provided more than 2,500 responses 

to offsite TA requests from adult drug court 

programs. 

In FY 2009, the National Drug Court 

Clearinghouse, managed by AU, responded to 

more than 2,500 inquiries, disseminated more 

than 10,000 documents, and prepared more 

than 50 reports on drug court activity for BJA 

and requesting jurisdictions. The clearinghouse 

web site recorded more than 1.7 million hits. 

Grantees who had previously received funding 

also realized successes such as the following: 

■ The Lancaster County (Nebraska) Adult Drug 

Court provided in-house substance abuse 

and co-occurring mental illness services to 

participants and partnered with the Mental 

Health Jail Diversion program, which the 

county operates concurrently. 

■ The Ramsey County Adult Drug Court, located 

in the Second Judicial District of Minnesota, 

created an in-house Mental Health Clinic in 

the courthouse. In as little as 6 months, clinic 

participants experienced less drug use, greater 

involvement with support groups, and a 

reduced number of relapses. 

Residential Substance 

Abuse Treatment for 

State Prisoners Program

Created by the Violent Crime Control and 

Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the Residential 

Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) for State 

Prisoners Program enhances the capacity of 

states and units of local government to provide 

incarcerated inmates with residential substance 

abuse treatment, incorporate this treatment into 

their reentry planning, and deliver communitybased treatment and other broad-based 

aftercare services. Lasting 6–12 months, RSAT 

programs help develop offenders’ cognitive, 

behavioral, social, vocational, and other skills 

to help solve their substance abuse and related 

problems. Allocations follow a formula that 

gives each state and territory a base amount 

plus an amount proportional to the ratio of its 

prison population to the total prison population 

of all states and territories. In FY 2009, BJA 

received $9.7 million for RSAT and made awards 

to 55 states and territories. 

Drug-Endangered Children

Because of the devastating effects on children 

of living in homes where meth is manufactured 

and used, multidisciplinary teams comprising 

law enforcement, social services, medical 

providers, and prosecutors have emerged 

to jointly protect and secure the interests of 

these drug-endangered children (DEC). BJA 

has partnered with the National Alliance for 

Drug Endangered Children (NADEC) to support 

these multidisciplinary partnerships at the state 

and local level. In FY 2009, with BJA funding, 

NADEC provided the following support for state 

efforts on behalf of drug-endangered children:

■ NADEC continued to develop and sustain a 

national network of experts and professionals, 

bringing them all together at the Expert 

Working Group meeting in Denver, Colorado, 

in May 2009. 

■ NADEC completed a series of webinars, with 

an average attendance of 80 participants, 

that covered topics such as the effects of drug 

abuse in pregnancy, the origins of addiction, 

and identifying DEC through law enforcement 

and child protective services. 

■ NADEC released a series of DEC-related fact 

sheets, including What Caregivers Should 

Know, Needs and Solutions for Children and 

Families Impacted by Alcohol and Other Drug 

Dependency, and Developmental Effects of 

Parental Incarceration on Children.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 21

■ NADEC continued to provide TA through 

e-mails, phone calls, and the online 

National DEC Training and Resource Center 

(www.nationaldec.org/resourcecenter/

resourcecenterhome.html), which was 

launched in 2008. 

■ NADEC conducted presentations, meetings, 

phone conference calls, and TA with state 

leaders that included the following: 

– Providing TA to Colorado on planning its 

leadership, recruiting board members, and 

enhancing public awareness using the film 

Crystal Darkness.

– Providing TTA to Montana on leadership, 

planning, and organizational structure and 

presenting an overview of NADEC to 200 

professionals.

– Presenting at a West Virginia statewide 

training for approximately 250 prosecutors. 

– Providing TA to Missouri in finalizing 

its state multidisciplinary structure and 

planning its inaugural DEC summit in July 

2009.

■ NADEC continued work on the Tribal Nations 

Pilot Project with alliances in Arizona, 

Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, 

Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin. This project 

focuses on building collaborations among 

state alliances and tribes to protect DEC.

■ NADEC held its 6th Annual National Alliance 

for Drug Endangered Children Conference in 

September 2009 in Spokane, Washington. 

Hosted by the Spokane County Sheriff’s 

Office, this conference offered professional 

development and three preconference halfday workshops focusing on medical, tribal, 

and core DEC issues. 

FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 23

C H A P T E R 4

MANAGING OFFENDERS 

pre- and post-release assessments and services. 

PRI funds also can be used to develop transition 

plans for supervised and non-supervised 

offenders in collaboration with other justice 

and community-based agencies and providers. 

Under this initiative, BJA has coordinated 

efforts for 3 years with the U.S. Department 

of Labor (DOL) with the design structured 

to work with DOL-selected faith-based and 

community organization service providers. PRI 

has demonstrated how these stakeholders can 

collectively work together, improve activities, 

and become more effective in addressing the 

needs of returning individuals. Examples of 

successful PRI sites include the Iowa Department 

of Corrections (with Spectrum Resources) and 

the Minnesota Department of Corrections (with 

Goodwill-Easter Seals of Minnesota).

In FY 2009, PRI transitioned to programs 

authorized under the Second Chance Act of 

2007, in which reentry is not envisioned to be a 

specific program, but rather an evidence-based 

process that begins with initial incarceration and 

ends with successful community reintegration 

evidenced by a lack of recidivism. The Second 

Chance Act provides broader pre- and postrelease services than PRI and expands applicant 

eligibility, target populations, and other 

more holistic services to assist individuals. In 

addition, while post-release funding under PRI 

was aimed primarily at employment readiness 

S

upervising offenders in the community 

and preparing them to return to their 

communities are critical to protecting 

public safety. Community supervision officers 

must balance the time required to manage 

growing caseloads and their desire to provide 

offenders with the services they need to become 

law-abiding citizens. Throughout the country, 

state and local probation and parole officials 

are testing new ways to meet these challenges. 

An increasingly popular and effective approach 

is the use of reentry programs, which provide 

a broad range of services for offenders while 

ensuring accountability. BJA supports numerous 

reentry initiatives that focus on partnering with 

correctional, law enforcement, and social service 

agencies, as well as faith-based and community 

organizations. In addition, BJA supports 

programs that work to reduce recidivism and 

promote coordinated efforts among reentry 

stakeholders and reimburses jurisdictions for 

expenses they incur when they incarcerate 

undocumented criminal aliens. 

Prisoner Reentry Initiative

The Prisoner Reentry Initiative (PRI) provides 

funding to eligible state government agencies 

including state departments of corrections and 

state criminal justice administering agencies 

and federally recognized Indian tribes, to deliver 
24 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

and maintenance with partnerships with 

DOL-selected faith-based and community 

organizations, Second Chance Act funding can 

be used to support a holistic reentry approach, 

including evidence-based services related to 

offender supervision and substance abuse 

treatment, mental health treatment, family 

reunification, supportive housing, mentoring, 

and job placement and support.

For more information on PRI and the Second 

Chance Act, visit www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/

SecondChance.html.

State and Local Justice 

Reinvestment

The goals of justice reinvestment are increasing 

public safety, reducing spending on corrections, 

and improving conditions in the neighborhoods 

to which most people released from prison 

return. To realize these goals, BJA has partnered 

with the Justice Center to advance the Justice 

Reinvestment Initiative at the state level. 

In FY 2009, the Justice Center received a 

supplemental award of nearly $400,000 to 

continue its work and selected the state of New 

Hampshire for its efforts to advance justice 

reinvestment. 

Another initiative is the Urban Institute’s (UI) 

effort to implement justice reinvestment on the 

local level. In FY 2008, BJA and UI partnered 

with three local jurisdictions—Alachua County, 

Florida; Allegheny County, Pennsylvania; 

and Travis County, Texas—to develop, 

implement, and evaluate a local data-driven 

and collaborative strategic plan to achieve 

meaningful reductions in their jail populations 

and to guide the reinvestment of jail reduction 

savings into more proactive public safety 

measures in the community. UI will evaluate 

the strategic planning process in each site, 

documenting the challenges and successes 

experienced by each. In FY 2009, UI continued 

its justice reinvestment work with the three 

counties, receiving a supplemental award of 

nearly $400,000. No indepth assessments of 

the work have been conducted to date. 

To learn more about justice reinvestment, 

see http://justicereinvestment.org/about.

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S 

Second Chance Funding 

Yields Results

After serving a 3-year sentence for drug possession, 

Braulio returned home to his Harlem community with 

few job prospects. Although prospective employers 

responded favorably to him during interviews, all 

ultimately rejected him once they learned of his 

involvement in the criminal justice system.

In a recent group study by the Center for Court 

Innovation, half of parolees released to Manhattan 

returned to upper Manhattan neighborhoods. 

Within 3 years, more than 60 percent of that 

group returned to prison. The inability to secure 

employment remains one of the most common 

explanations for such high recidivism rates. As a 

condition of his parole, Braulio was enrolled in 

the Harlem Parole Reentry Court, a 2009 Second 

Chance Act demonstration grantee, and with the 

support of its staff and program participants, he 

secured employment as a maintenance technician 

with Storage Deluxe. He has since been promoted 

to manager. 

At a recent graduation ceremony for the Harlem 

Parole Reentry Court, Braulio highlighted the 

importance of second chances and the support 

provided by the reentry court and its partners in 

the community. The Honorable Cyrus Vance, Jr., 

District Attorney for New York County, attended the 

ceremony and acknowledged Braulio and other 

honorees for their achievements.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 25

Reentry Training for 

Correctional Agencies

With more than 2.3 million individuals serving 

time in federal and state prisons, and 95 

percent of them eventually returning to their 

communities, safe and successful reentry 

programs are critical. In 2007 BJA, in partnership 

with the Center for Effective Public Policy (CEPP), 

developed the Training for Correctional Agencies 

on Strategies for Successful Offender Reentry 

program to assist correctional agencies in three 

states (to be selected through a competitive 

application process) in making systemic change 

toward justice reinvestment by implementing 

effective offender reentry policies. The goal of 

the project is to extend the impact of CEPP’s 

proven curriculum through three training events, 

with CEPP developing goals and adapting 

the curriculum for each of the state-specific 

trainings. 

In FY 2009, work was ongoing with the three 

selected states—Kentucky, New York, and 

North Dakota. The project targeting Kentucky 

seems to be the most impactful. Its onsite TA 

event attracted more than 250 state corrections 

agencies and resulted in a comprehensive 

reentry strategy. For more information, go 

to www.cepp.com.

Specialized Reentry

Gang Member Reentry 

The Gang Member Reentry Assistance Project 

focuses on developing tools, strategies, 

and training products that will assist law 

enforcement and corrections agencies in 

addressing the many issues faced by returning 

juvenile and adult gang offenders. Under 

this project, the American Probation and 

Parole Association (APPA) will develop guides 

and tutorials that will help corrections and 

law enforcement agencies to address gang 

member reentry issues, promote the successful 

reentry of gang-affiliated individuals into the 

community as law-abiding citizens, and enhance 

training and technical assistance endeavors 

on a national level. APPA, in cooperation with 

IIR and the Association of State Correctional 

Administrators, is developing instructional 

guides to be disseminated on CD and DVD and 

online multimedia tutorials directed at pre- and 

post-release personnel. These aids will present 

information on providing pre-release, transition, 

and post-release services to gang members. 

During FY 2009, the project partners continued 

to work on collecting and drafting material 

for inclusion in the gang reentry guides and 

to build upon the library of relevant literature 

created early in the project period. In an attempt 

to collect the most recent and field-applicable 

information for the instructional guides, requests 

were posted on the GANGINFO listserv, which 

resulted in numerous e-mail and telephone 

conversations. From this body of data, the 

partners developed a draft problem statement 

for inclusion as an introduction to the product 

materials, wrote the content for the instructional 

guides, and met to discuss the layout and 

technical design for the final products. The 

project partners also drafted guiding principles 

that outlined both organizational and practical 

considerations for implementation at each 

stage of reentry, from institutionalization 

through community supervision. The project 

team is currently working with BJA to finalize 

the deliverables, and the CD/DVD and other 

materials should be available to the field in 

FY 2010. 

Reentry of Meth-Addicted Offenders

The primary objectives of APPA’s Reentry of 

Methamphetamine-Addicted Offenders project 

are the following:

■ Research and identify effective supervision and 

programming strategies for offenders who are 

returning to the community and are addicted 

to methamphetamine (meth). 
26 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

■ Develop a tool that will help community 

corrections agencies assess their supervision 

and programming strategies for methaddicted offenders returning to the 

community.

■ Provide technical assistance for up to three 

sites to help them enhance or develop and 

implement effective strategies. 

■ Disseminate project information, findings, and 

lessons learned from technical assistance sites 

using means such as presentations, articles, 

and a white paper. 

The three sites chosen for the project are the 

Colorado State Court Administrators Office, 

Division of Probation Services; Maricopa County 

Adult Probation (Arizona); and the South Dakota 

Board of Pardons and Parole.

By FY 2009, the site visits and final TA reports 

for the Colorado and South Dakota sites were 

completed, approved by BJA, and released 

to the field. The Colorado site materials are 

available on the APPA web site and were 

featured in the June 2009 edition of APPA’s 

CC Headlines. The Colorado State Court 

Administrators Office, Division of Probation 

Services has implemented recommendations 

made during the TA visit and has reported 

improvements. The South Dakota site technical 

report is also available on the APPA web site 

and was featured in the December 2008 

edition of CC Headlines. South Dakota also has 

implemented TA recommendations and reported 

communication and other improvements. Two 

additional followup conference call reports have 

also been completed.

Project staff are completing the final project tool, 

a resource guide that will be available online and 

on CD that will include project information such 

as site visit summaries and web-based resources 

for community corrections staff to use with their 

meth-involved offender caseloads. Still to be 

completed are the site visit assessment and final 

report of the Maricopa County TA, which will be 

posted on the APPA web site, and, ultimately, 

an article on the project’s overall findings to be 

published in APPA’s quarterly, Perspectives.

Smarter Sentencing 

The Smarter Sentencing to Reduce Recidivism 

project trains the primary stakeholders in the 

criminal justice system—prosecutors, defenders, 

the judiciary, and probation and parole 

professionals—to apply research-based practices 

of plea negotiation, sentencing, and revocation 

to facilitate reentry and reduce recidivism. 

The goal is to lessen reliance on the expensive 

sanction of incapacitation, whether in jail or 

prison, while enhancing public safety.

BJA awarded $340,590 to the Justice 

Management Institute (JMI) under the Byrne 

Discretionary Program in FY 2008. JMI has since 

held an advisory group meeting of judges, 

prosecutors, defense attorneys, and community 

corrections professionals from national 

organizations and state and local governments 

to inform training curriculum development. JMI 

has also gathered information about issues and 

topics related to the curriculum in development. 

In FY 2010, team-based training geared toward 

multidisciplinary teams will be piloted in three 

or four states and a research article will be 

disseminated. Both the training curriculum and 

research article will also be accessible online via 

the BJA web site.

Corrections Information Sharing

Effective reintegration of offenders into 

communities upon release requires that law 

enforcement agencies be notified of who is 

returning and the terms of release, and that 

community supervision starts immediately upon 

release. It also involves programs that assist 

offenders in the reentry process, including 

pre-release programs, drug rehabilitation, 

vocational training, and work programs. Close 

coordination among all stakeholders is necessary 

for success. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 27

To enable this coordination, BJA awarded 

$300,000 to APPA and a supplemental award 

to the Association of State Correctional 

Administrators to accomplish the following 

tasks and implement them in three pilot sites, 

including at least one local jurisdiction: 

■ Identify business processes associated with 

sharing corrections information and what 

information should be associated with the 

release of offenders.

■ Determine the availability of such information 

in formats that can facilitate its automated 

transmission.

■ Identify organizations that are candidates for 

receiving such information and determine 

their readiness to receive it via automated 

transmission or manual methods of delivery.

■ Develop information-sharing technology

and/or manual methods tailored to potential 

information recipients using the Justice 

Reference Architecture (JRA) to facilitate

the business processes required.

■ Develop plans for field testing proposed 

solutions as a proof of concept and 

demonstration of results. 

APPA has identified information exchange 

packages and their supporting documentation 

(IEPDs), employing the National Information 

Exchange Model to specify information that can 

be associated with the release of offenders from 

corrections facilities. Next steps are to identify 

potential recipients for that information, the 

range of possible information exchanges, and 

the three pilot sites to implement the key priority 

information exchanges that support effective 

offender reentry.

State Criminal Alien 

Assistance Program

The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program 

(SCAAP) provides payments to states and local 

jurisdictions that incurred correctional officer 

salary costs for incarcerating undocumented 

criminal aliens who have at least one felony or 

two misdemeanor convictions for violations of 

state or local law, and who were incarcerated 

for at least four consecutive days during a 

12-month reporting period. BJA works with the 

Department of Homeland Security to verify the 

inmate records submitted by the grantees and 

with the Bureau of Justice Statistics to compile 

the verified inmate data. In FY 2009, 900 

SCAAP awards were made, amounting to $394 

million. About 50 of the FY 2009 SCAAP award 

recipients were newly introduced to the program 

through BJA’s outreach efforts. 

Most jurisdictions use SCAAP funding to 

pay the salaries and overtime costs of their 

corrections officers, but many also use these 

funds to pay for training and technology. For 

example, Titus County, Texas, and New Hanover 

County, North Carolina, are using SCAAP funds 

to train their corrections officers in specific 

areas such as cell extraction response, first-line 

corrections supervision, and K–9 jail training. 

In addition, the Connecticut Department of 

Corrections is using SCAAP funds to construct 

a videoconferencing center in the jail facility, 

which will reduce overtime and transportation 

costs, protect the public, and allow inmates to 

attend court proceedings and meet with law 

enforcement officials without leaving the facility. 

For more information, go to www.ojp.usdoj.gov/

BJA/grant/scaap.html.

FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 29

C H A P T E R 5

PROTECTING AND SUPPORTING

VICTIMS OF CRIME 

Attorney’s Office, a BJA-funded task force works 

with an OVC grantee and DOJ’s Civil Rights 

Division to identify and rescue victims of human 

trafficking through proactive investigation. 

Although BJA did not issue a new solicitation in 

FY 2009, there are now 40 active task forces; 

maintaining these efforts on 40 task forces 

based on an initial grant of $450,000 for a 

3-year period adds up to $6 million per year, 

which is greater than the traditional funding 

stream supports. BJA did supplement 19 task 

forces so that all task forces have sufficient 

funding until the end of FY 2010. 

At the end of FY 2008, BJA implemented a 

reporting system based on a system maintained 

by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) that 

collects investigation and arrest data related to 

human trafficking. BJA’s new system requires 

task forces to report on a monthly basis; it will 

tie victim counts to the case data collected by 

BJS and can be used by task forces as a case 

management tool. Victim data from human 

trafficking cases that were opened in FY 2009 

are pending; however, during the first three 

quarters of FY 2009, 24 task forces reported 

that 135 foreign victims of trafficking in persons 

had been rescued, 109 foreign persons were 

rescued who were potentially victims of human 

trafficking, and 73 foreign persons were 

identified but confirmed not to be victims of 

trafficking. 

While the Office for Victims of Crime 

(OVC) is the component of OJP that 

specializes in resources and support for 

victims, BJA takes the lead on victim-centered 

programs that also must leverage support from 

established BJA partners at the state, local, and 

tribal levels. In this capacity, BJA developed the 

Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force Initiative, 

which operates in close collaboration with 

OVC, and the Statewide Automated Victim 

Information and Notification (SAVIN) Program, 

which provides funding for states to develop 

and implement information systems that notify 

victims of events affecting their offenders and 

their offenders’ cases, about which the victim 

has a right to be informed under the 2004 

Justice for All Act.

Anti-Human Trafficking 

Task Force Initiative

Under the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force 

Initiative, BJA and its partners work closely with 

local and state law enforcement agencies to 

organize anti-human trafficking task forces with 

a multidisciplinary, victim-centered approach, 

not only because of the inherent humanitarian 

principle behind the identification and rescue of 

victims, but also because these victims are key 

to the successful investigation and prosecution 

of traffickers. Usually led by the local U.S. 
30 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

Much of BJA’s support for the initiative involves 

TTA. OVC and BJA have collaborated in funding 

the OVC Training and Technical Assistance 

Center (OVC TTAC), which delivers TTA to the 

law enforcement agencies and victim service 

providers that are funded by BJA and OVC 

to identify and rescue victims of trafficking 

in persons. In FY 2009, OVC TTAC laid the 

foundation for developing a human trafficking 

operations guide for task forces; planned a 

southeast regional human trafficking 

conference and a 2010 national human 

trafficking conference; and directly delivered

TA to human trafficking task forces. 

Additionally, in FY 2009, BJA conducted 12 

immersion trainings—week-long intensive 

learning experiences involving case-driven and 

interactive participation with some of the most 

successful human trafficking task forces in the 

United States—for BJA-OVC human trafficking 

task forces. BJA also continued funding the 

Upper Midwestern Community Policing Institute 

to deliver the BJA-developed train-the-trainer 

curriculum to law enforcement trainers through 

Regional Community Policing Institutes, and 

developed an advanced human trafficking 

training curriculum that is near completion. 

For more information about BJA’s Anti-Human 

Trafficking Task Force Initiative, go to 

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/httf.html. 

Statewide Automated

Victim Information and 

Notification Program

The SAVIN Program provides registered victims 

with timely and accurate information about 

any important dates and developments in the 

criminal proceedings of their cases (e.g., trial 

dates, times, or changes; probation hearings; 

inmate relocation; or offender release). This 

information enables victims to participate fully 

in the judicial process while maintaining total 

anonymity. SAVIN programs require oversight 

by an authorized statewide agency (which must 

include at least one crime victim) and depend 

on effective technology, project design, and 

program management.

In FY 2009, BJA issued a competitive solicitation 

and made 5 new awards and 11 supplemental 

awards for system enhancements, for a total 

of $7,900,519 in direct grant funding to 

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S 

SAVIN Helps Authorities 

Apprehend Offender

A crime victim residing in Monroe County in western 

Wisconsin had been threatened by an offender who 

was incarcerated in adjacent Iowa. The Monroe 

County victim witness coordinator told the victim 

about the Victim Information and Notification 

Everyday (VINE) service and its availability in Iowa, 

and assisted the victim in registering for it. The 

Monroe County sheriff also had an interest in this 

offender and intended to execute an active warrant 

against him upon his release in Iowa. 

When the offender was released, VINE immediately 

notified the victim. She contacted the victim witness 

coordinator to confirm that the released offender 

would be taken into custody by Monroe County. 

The sheriff had not been notified of the offender’s 

release. It was because of the victim’s inquiry that 

he immediately contacted the Iowa authorities and 

learned that the offender had been picked up by 

his mother and was en route to Monroe County. 

Because of the early notification to this victim 

and her timely followup, the sheriff was able to 

apprehend the offender at his mother’s home and 

take him into custody, and a potentially dangerous 

situation for the victim was avoided.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 31

state agencies responsible for administering 

the statewide automated systems. The FY 

2009 awards brought the total number of 

SAVIN systems to 38 states and Puerto Rico. 

BJA also awarded $700,000 to the National 

Criminal Justice Association to help the 

state administering agencies implement a 

comprehensive TTA strategy and transferred 

$1.6 million to the National Institute of Justice 

(NIJ) to conduct a process and outcome 

evaluation of the SAVIN Program. 

When a SAVIN system fails, a large number 

of victims may receive false notifications of 

offender release, causing alarm and requiring 

quick response from public service agencies. To 

further support these state systems, the SAVIN 

Advisory Committee developed and published 

the Critical Event Management: Planning, 

Response and Recovery Guide (available at 

http://it.ojp.gov/documents/ijis_savin_guidelines_

standards.pdf), a tool to help state SAVIN 

administrators prepare for, respond to, and 

recover from system errors, which have troubled 

several states in recent years. This guide provides 

step-by-step instructions for addressing a system 

error, as well as sample documents including 

a customer-vendor checklist to prevent future 

occurrences.

For more information on the SAVIN Program, 

visit www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/savin.html. 

For indepth SAVIN Program standards and 

guidance, go to http://it.ojp.gov/documents/

ijis_savin_guidelines_standards.pdf.

FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 33

C H A P T E R 6

ENHANCING LAW ENFORCEMENT

INITIATIVES

other effective policing strategies. In addition, 

this initiative is designed to demonstrate the 

value of incorporating research, analysis, and 

the collection of performance measures into 

the regular strategic thinking and operational 

planning of law enforcement agencies. 

To respond to the steep increase in property 

and other violent crimes related to the country’s 

current economic circumstances and substantial 

unemployment rates, BJA released the FY 2009 

Smart Policing: Evidence-Based Law Enforcement 

solicitation in June 2009, and in September 

2009 awarded grants totaling $3,992,662 to 

10 law enforcement agencies, as well as 1 TTA 

grant for $699,283 to CNA Corporation.

Targeting Violent 

Crime Initiative

Initiated in FY 2007, the Targeting Violent 

Crime Initiative (TVCI) has provided funds to 

103 agencies representing both large and small 

jurisdictions throughout the country. TVCI funds 

support creating or maintaining multiagency 

violent crime task forces that follow problemsolving, intelligence-led policing practices. Funds 

can also be used to improve agencies’ analytical 

capabilities and records management systems. 

At the end of FY 2009, 69 of the original 103 

TVCI agencies were still active. 

BJA supports initiatives that address the 

prevention, suppression, and subsequent 

reduction of violent crime and gang 

activity and provides resources, including 

TTA, to law enforcement agencies and the 

communities they serve. BJA also provides 

specialized training for law enforcement 

professionals in smart policing, forensics, 

multiagency task force operations, mortgage 

fraud, helping combat veterans to transition 

or return to law enforcement careers, and 

preventing law enforcement officer suicide.

Smart Policing Initiative

The Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) seeks to build 

on the concepts of “offender-based” and 

“place-based” policing. Several authoritative 

longitudinal projects have demonstrated 

that a small number of offenders commit a 

disproportionate amount of crime. It is also 

well documented that reports of crime and calls 

for service often occur predominantly at specific 

locations or in narrow, easily defined areas. 

These findings reveal that effective policing 

requires a tightly focused, collaborative approach 

that is measurable; based on sound, detailed 

analysis; and includes policies and procedures to 

ensure accountability. SPI aims to either build on 

these findings or to broaden the knowledge of 
34 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

The agencies active during FY 2009 served 

3,473 search warrants; made more than 

60,000 felony arrests; seized hundreds of kilos 

of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine (crack 

and powder), marijuana, and other drugs; 

recovered 6,834 weapons; and provided nearly 

6,000 immediately actionable intelligence 

items to other law enforcement agencies. 

As important, many of these TVCI agencies 

reported reductions in violent crime. In FY 2010, 

BJA will document the strategies and tactics that 

led to these substantial reductions in crime in a 

publication about intelligence-led policing. 

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S 

JAG Funding Enhances Services

During FY 2009, JAG Program funding led to many accomplishments.

information on jobs, educational and training 

programs, housing, record expungement, and 

other support services. 

Cincinnati’s Sexual Assault 

Advocate Program 

Since 2000, the Sexual Assault Advocate 

Program—a joint effort between Women Helping 

Women and the Cincinnati Police Department’s 

Personal Crimes Unit (PCU)—has supported 

victims through PCU advocacy, criminal court 

accompaniment, hospital accompaniment, the 

PROTECT Hotline (a joint project with the YMCA), 

crisis intervention sessions, and facilitated support 

groups structured around sexual assault. During 

the past year, the program followed up with 187 

sexual assault victims who were accompanied 

at the hospital by an advocate from Women 

Helping Women. The advocate’s contribution—

though only 15 hours per week—is significant. 

Prosecution is often made possible because 

an advocate was able to calm and reassure a 

victim; a victim is more likely to continue working 

with detectives and prosecutors if an advocate is 

available throughout the process. 

Baltimore City Community 

Services Program

In FY 2009, JAG funds paid the salaries of one 

community service coordinator, three case 

investigators, and one clerk so they could 

successfully implement the Baltimore City 

Community Services Program (CSP), to which 

the Circuit Court for Baltimore City referred 

7,922 offenders. For cases involving nonviolent 

offenses, this program enhances the ability of 

the court to dispose of cases in a timely manner 

and operates a daily work crew from the district 

court, which provides a visible sanction. 

CSP’s most visible aspect is its grassroots Working 

in Community project, which in FY 2009 

assigned offenders to 88 community-based 

work projects supervised by more than 15 

community associations. Through these projects, 

residents and offenders worked together to 

improve their neighborhoods with activities such 

as turning trash-filled vacant lots into community 

gardens. CSP’s far-reaching prevention efforts to 

reduce recidivism included interviewing more 

than 7,000 clients and providing offenders with 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 35

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 

Assistance Grant Program

The JAG Program is the leading source of federal 

justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. 

Established to streamline justice funding and 

grant administration, JAG allows states, tribes, 

and local governments to prioritize and place 

justice funds according to their own local needs 

and conditions, within a range of program areas, 

including law enforcement, prosecution and 

courts, prevention and education, corrections 

and community corrections, drug treatment and 

enforcement, planning, evaluation, technology 

improvement, and crime victim and witness 

initiatives. More than 40 percent of annual 

JAG funding is allocated to law enforcement 

personnel, initiatives (e.g., multijurisdictional 

drug and gang task forces), and equipment 

(e.g., police cruisers and less-than-lethal devices). 

Remaining JAG funds support programs 

and initiatives involving courts, corrections, 

treatment, and justice information sharing. 

JAG awards are 4 years in length and 

are distributed up front instead of on a 

reimbursement basis, allowing recipients to earn 

interest on their awards and generate additional 

funding for successful initiatives and future 

projects. Applicants for JAG state awards are 

limited to states, the District of Columbia, the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern 

Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and 

American Samoa. Applicants for JAG local 

awards are limited to units of local government 

that JAG identifies annually on its JAG 

Allocations List. The JAG legislation specifies that 

allocations to local governments are based on 

their share of the total violent crime for the state 

reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

over 3 of the past 10 years.

In FY 2009, BJA processed 1,420 local 

applications totaling $164,855,071 and 56 

state applications totaling $317,509,160. 

Award recipients are in the initial stages of 

implementing their projects. The newly deployed 

JAG Performance Measurement Tool will gather 

pertinent performance metrics data, which 

should be available by February 2010. 

For more information, go to www.ojp.usdoj.gov/

BJA/grant/jag.html.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) was 

originally a strategy to reduce gun crime in the 

United States that focused on aggressive and 

coordinated enforcement of existing gun laws in 

federal and state courts, and was subsequently 

modified to help reduce and prevent gang 

crime as well. The PSN strategy focuses on 

implementing five elements that are integral 

to a comprehensive, coordinated program: 

partnerships, strategic planning, training, 

community outreach, and accountability. BJA 

supports the PSN strategy through both direct 

grant funds and the delivery of TTA to the field. 

PSN Anti-Gang Training

In September 2007, DOJ expanded the PSN 

training model by developing PSN Anti-Gang 

Training to increase agencies’ knowledge 

of gangs and to promote interagency 

communication and collaboration among law 

enforcement, criminal justice, and community 

organizations to address more effectively the 

gang issues affecting communities. Participating 

jurisdictions receive additional resources and 

advanced, supplemental training or TA, as 

appropriate. 

During FY 2009, with $657,000 in BJA funding, 

PSN conducted four anti-gang trainings divided 

into three tracks: “Investigators/Prosecutors,” 

“Line Law Enforcement,” “Intervention/

Prevention,” and “Executive Session.” The last 

track is a 1-day strategic planning session that 

involves service providers and law enforcement 

and criminal justice officials who have been 

identified as key community leaders by the host 

U.S. Attorney. In the future, more emphasis 
36 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

will be placed on including community-related 

foundations in the Executive Session, in order to 

provide potential funding sources for programs 

and projects that are developed as a result of the 

session. 

In response to positive feedback from attendees 

and requests from the field, seven PSN anti-gang 

trainings are scheduled for FY 2010. 

PSN Training and Technical Assistance

The PSN TTA Program addresses the growing 

problems of violent crime, offenders, and gun 

and gang violence facing many communities 

by delivering TTA to state and local law 

enforcement, criminal justice partners, and 

communities experiencing these issues. Requests 

for PSN TTA nationally increased from 12 in 

2007 to more than 40 in FY 2009—the highest 

demand since the program’s inception. In FY 

2009, 11 grants and 4 interagency agreements 

totaling $2,912,000 were awarded. The 

increased volume of TTA requests will allow 

more districts, jurisdictions, and communities to 

benefit from the variety of services available.

In FY 2010, BJA plans to complete the current 

TTA services and to add services for corrections 

and reentry strategies, media outreach, 

community mobilization, and coordination.

PSN Grants

In FY 2009, 93 PSN formula grants totaling 

$11,645,944 were awarded to the 93 U.S. 

Attorney districts to support the delivery 

and implementation of the PSN strategy to 

communities and task forces within those 

districts. Each of the 93 federal judicial districts 

was eligible to apply for a formula-based 

allocation based on crime and population, 

which will then flow through the PSN fiscal 

agent. Also, BJA provided $150,000 each to two 

tribes—the Eastern Navajo Nation in the District 

of New Mexico and the Tohono O’odham in 

the District of Arizona—for the development 

of two PSN pilot initiatives in Indian Country. 

Deliverables include formation of a PSN Task 

Force that includes tribal, federal, state, and 

local law enforcement; identification of cases 

suitable for federal prosecution; a measurable 

increase in cases prosecuted; and development 

and delivery of community prevention and 

education programs for domestic violence, gang 

violence, and gun-related crimes.

12-City Comprehensive 

Anti-Gang Initiative

Since its inception in 2006, the Attorney 

General’s Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative 

has selected 12 sites to participate: Los Angeles, 

California; Tampa/Hillsborough, Florida; Cook 

County/Chicago, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; 

Detroit, Michigan; Cleveland, Ohio; Oklahoma 

City, Oklahoma; Rochester, New York; Raleigh/

Durham, North Carolina; the Route 222 Corridor 

of Eastern Pennsylvania; Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; 

and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The initiative uses a 

three-pronged approach of suppression and law 

enforcement, prevention, and reentry services 

and supervision to address violent gang activities 

in these cities. The law enforcement component 

focuses on suppression, cooperation, 

collaboration, and intelligence sharing among 

federal, state, and local law enforcement 

agencies to combat gun violence and violent 

street gangs. The prevention component focuses 

on preventing children, teenagers, and young 

adults from becoming involved in gangs and on 

deterring renewed gang involvement for those 

offenders returning to the community from jail 

or prison. The reentry component focuses on 

pre- and post-release services and supervision 

for gang members returning to the community 

following incarceration at the local or state level. 

In FY 2009, no new sites were selected but 

those selected in FY 2008—Cook County/

Chicago, Illinois, and Detroit, Michigan—

established community-based partnerships. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 37

Spearheaded by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 

each of the sites, these partnerships include 

federal, state, and local law enforcement 

agencies and prosecutors; local and state 

corrections and probation agencies; faith-based 

and community organizations; local and state 

service and prevention agencies; and community 

activist groups. For both the prevention and 

reentry components, the initiative encourages 

faith-based and community organizations or 

other private agencies to use vouchers to pay for 

the services they provide.

Center for Task Force Training 

In response to escalating multijurisdictional 

crime and criminal organizations, local law 

enforcement has turned increasingly to 

multiagency task forces. BJA, in partnership 

with IIR, administers the Center for Task Force 

Training (CenTF) program to support these task 

forces. In FY 2009, with a $500,000 award 

from BJA, CenTF provided more than 100 law 

enforcement officers with narcotics commander 

training in task force leadership, policies, 

and procedures; personnel and training; law 

enforcement intelligence and case management; 

operations planning; working with confidential 

informants; and undercover operations and 

risk management. More than 125 officers 

received training in first response and lab scene 

procedures, raid planning, and techniques 

specific to investigating methamphetamine 

cases. 

The Narcotics Commanders Workshop 

curriculum and the CenTF instructors’ subject 

matter expertise were also critical components 

of the new Center for Task Force Leadership 

and Integrity program, which was created 

in FY 2009 to provide online training and 

resources for BJA-funded multiagency task 

forces. This new program’s web site went 

live in August 2009 and offers four curricula: 

“Executive Leadership,” “Task Force Leadership 

and Management,” “Safeguarding Privacy, 

Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties in Task Force 

Operations,” and “Criminal Intelligence 

Systems Operating Policies (28 Code of Federal 

Regulations Part 23).” Modules will be updated 

or created to address topics in task force 

management as needed. 

For more information and resources related to 

the CenTF program, see www.iir.com/centf. For 

access to the Center for Task Force Leadership 

and Integrity’s web-based training and resources, 

see www.ctfli.org. 

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S 

National Forensic Academy 

Training Leads to Better 

Evidence Collection

In November 2009, a criminal investigator who

had received training at the National Forensic 

Academy (NFA) was assigned to a homicide scene 

in Mitchell, South Dakota, involving the death of 

a 16-year-old female who had been stabbed 

repeatedly and placed in the trunk of her car, which 

was then set on fire. The investigator had received 

training in how to exhume human remains and 

process an arson scene. Nevertheless, he called NFA 

and conferred with Dr. Jo Ann Devlin about the best 

way to remove the victim’s remains, which were 

quite fragile because of the fire. Because of this 

consultation and the NFA training, the investigator 

was able to preserve important evidence, and gain 

confidence in his ability to work a complex crime 

scene effectively.
38 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

National Forensic Science 

Technology Center

In FY 2007, the National Forensic Science 

Technology Center received a BJA award to 

manage, among other things, the provision 

of scholarships to the 2008 International 

Association of Forensic Sciences triennial 

meeting and the development of a national 

homicide symposium. In FY 2009, the center 

launched a public web site that provides 

project background and synopses written by 

the scholarship recipients who attended the 

2008 meeting. The site provides a unique 

opportunity for forensic science practitioners to 

gain insight into the benefits and limitations of 

applying these new technologies by reading the 

observations of their peers. To access the site, go 

to http://projects.nfstc.org/iafs2008/index.htm.

In July 2009, the center, in partnership with 

BJA and NIJ, held the Homicide Investigation 

Symposium, which brought together 350 

federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement 

officers who investigate homicide cases to 

discuss a wide variety of topics. For example, the 

session entitled “Key Elements to a Homicide 

Investigation Involving Familial or Domestic 

Violence” examined case elements such as prior 

history of domestic violence, separation and 

estrangement, obsessive-possessive behavior, 

and morbid jealousy, as well as alcohol and 

drug use, unemployment, the presence of 

stepchildren in the home, and the important 

role of shame. Participants gained insight into 

how perpetrators’ responses to law enforcement 

affect the investigation, from the start of the 

case through prosecution, and learned about 

strategies such as domestic violence fatality 

reviews, which help improve multiagency service 

delivery. To learn more about the Homicide 

Investigation Symposium, go to http://projects.

nfstc.org/homicide2009/index.htm.

In FY 2009, the National Forensic Science 

Technology Center was also awarded a 

congressionally directed grant and plans to 

continue developing training in the forensic 

sciences for law enforcement professionals, 

medical examiners, and others. 

National Forensic Academy/

National Forensic Science 

Institute

A division of the University of Tennessee’s Law 

Enforcement Innovation Center, the National 

Forensic Science Institute (NFSI) conducts a 

10-week National Forensic Academy (NFA) at 

the university, which provides unique assets 

such as the Anthropological Research Facility, 

also known as the “Body Farm.” In FY 2009, 

NFSI completed three NFA sessions, educating 

69 crime scene investigators, and began a fourth 

session. The NFA curriculum validation project 

also was completed, ensuring that the NFA 

curriculum is both valid and current. Honored 

with the International Association of Chiefs 

of Police (IACP) August Vollmer Award for 

Excellence in Forensic Science, NFA partners with 

IACP’s Forensic Science Committee by providing 

tuition-free scholarships to award recipients and 

participating in IACP’s annual conference and 

awards ceremony. 

In addition to conducting NFA, NFSI teaches 

advanced forensic courses throughout the 

country such as “Bloodstain Pattern Analysis” 

and “Digital Crime Scene Photography.” In FY 

2009, NFSI conducted these advanced forensic 

courses at 10 host locations across the country. 

On average, 24 participants representing state 

and local law enforcement agencies from 

throughout the host state and surrounding areas 

participated in the courses. In December 2008, 

NFSI also hosted a national forensic symposium 

entitled “The Future of Forensic Investigations” 

in Nashville, Tennessee, that was attended by 

more than 275 participants from 3 countries, 29 

states, and 136 law enforcement and forensic 

science agencies or organizations. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 39

Late in FY 2009, NFSI received a congressionally 

directed award so it could continue its NFA 

sessions. Because of limited funding in the 

next fiscal year, NFSI will offer two rather than 

three sessions. For more information about 

the National Forensic Science Institute and its 

National Forensic Academy, go to www.leic.

tennessee.edu/nfsi.

Drug Market Intervention

In FY 2008, BJA implemented the Drug 

Market Intervention Initiative (DMI), a 9-month 

TTA initiative for committed jurisdictions to 

implement the “High Point model” of drug 

crime reduction (now called the Drug Market 

Intervention strategy), which is based on a 

program designed and successfully implemented 

in High Point, North Carolina, to eliminate openair drug markets and their associated crime 

and violence. 

In FY 2009, with the assistance of national 

partners AU, Michigan State University (MSU), 

the Institute for Law and Justice, and David 

Kennedy of the John Jay College of Criminal 

Justice, BJA continued the trainings piloted in 

FY 2008 for teams consisting of a prosecutor, 

law enforcement officer, community leader, and 

social service provider from selected jurisdictions. 

This second round of TTA involved Atlanta, 

Georgia; Fitchburg, Massachusetts; Mesa, 

Arizona; Memphis, Tennessee; Middletown, 

Ohio; Ocala, Florida; Peoria, Illinois; Providence, 

Rhode Island; and Seattle, Washington. 

Generally, the trainings were held in cities that 

have successfully implemented the strategy so 

that students can interface with experienced 

local criminal justice professionals, social service 

providers, and community leaders. In addition to 

providing three trainings, the national partners 

phoned sites regularly between training sessions 

to discuss unanticipated issues and progress on 

local initiatives, made site visits, provided sites 

with evaluations and data analysis, conducted 

biannual followup with FY 2008 sites, and 

assisted other sites interested in implementing 

the strategy. 

During FY 2009, the following deliverables 

were in production by the national partners: 

■ MSU and AU created an implementation 

guide and curriculum guide to assist future 

implementation sites as well as those wanting 

to implement similar training programs. 

■ MSU developed and maintained the 

secure ANGEL web site (accessible only to 

participants) and the public DMI web site 

(www1.cj.msu.edu/~outreach/psn/DMI), 

which is a central repository for all course 

information, materials pertaining to DMI, 

news articles published about DMI, and 

other related materials. 

■ MSU began making a video documenting 

the evolution of DMI and creating a “mental 

mapping” process to better understand the 

DMI logic model. 

Returning Veterans 

Much of our country’s defense depends on 

those who volunteer to serve as reservists for the 

military or are members of state-based National 

Guard units. These same reserve and National 

Guard units have become attractive secondary 

employment for many law enforcement officers. 

With the escalation of the war on terror in 

2003, many law enforcement agencies were 

not prepared to lose some officers to active 

duty with their military reserve and National 

Guard units, nor did agencies know how 

best to support the families of these officers. 

The nation’s strategy for combating terrorism 

dictates that military activations of sworn 

and non-sworn law enforcement personnel 

throughout the United States will continue 

well beyond 2010. Law enforcement agencies 

have a responsibility to support these service 

members and their families into the future and 

it is imperative that they proactively address 

the issues that veteran officers face and 
40 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

provide them with any assistance they may 

need. It is important that agencies develop 

a transition strategy and policies or refine an 

existing strategy to optimize their support for 

veteran officers and ensure them as smooth a 

transition as possible as they return to their law 

enforcement positions.

In November 2006, IACP joined with the 

Klein Associates Division of Applied Research 

Associates, Inc., to discuss this evolving issue. In 

late 2007, with funding support and guidance 

from BJA, IACP and its private partner designed 

a study of the issues surrounding returning 

combat veterans who enter or return to law 

enforcement careers. The study focused on 

understanding the recent experiences of 

combat veterans as they transitioned back 

into law enforcement careers. This is the first 

comprehensive project that has resulted in 

the development of written guidance for law 

enforcement executives, as well as returning 

veterans, about how best to reenter law 

enforcement.

The assessment included four regional focus 

groups that explained the influence of 

deployment and combat on various skills critical 

to performing effectively when returning to a 

law enforcement position. The focus groups 

were followed by a series of one-on-one, 

incident-based interviews to further examine 

the issues. Surveys were conducted of both 

law enforcement agency leaders and returning 

veterans. The findings and recommendations 

of this research were presented in a September 

2009 report, Employing Returning Combat 

Veterans as Law Enforcement Officers, available 

on the IACP web site (www.theiacp.org). This 

examination has been instrumental in raising 

the awareness of both law enforcement leaders 

and returning veterans to the critical need for 

agencies to think deeply and proactively about 

how best to support officers returning from 

military deployment. It has found that agencies 

need to guide the transition of veteran officers 

back into the law enforcement agency, not only 

with clearly defined policies and procedures, 

but with support, assistance, and mentoring. 

Resource guides for both law enforcement 

leaders and returning veterans will be available 

in early 2010. The next phase of the project, 

which involves developing a resource guidebook 

for veterans’ families, assessing current 

recruiting practices aimed at veterans, and 

developing a strategy for future recruitment, 

has been funded with FY 2009 dollars.

Information for military veterans who are 

considering a career in law enforcement 

following their military service can be 

found on the DiscoverPolicing web site 

at www.discoverpolicing.org/find_your_

career/?fa=military_veterans.

Prevention of Suicide Among 

Law Enforcement Officers

The “In Harm’s Way” program is designed to 

increase awareness of strategies for preventing 

suicide and offer those strategies to assist 

with the growing issue of suicide among law 

enforcement officers. This program was created 

in 2001 through a partnership among the 

Florida Regional Community Policing Institute 

at St. Petersburg College; the U.S. Attorney’s 

Office, Middle District of Florida; and Survivors 

of Law Enforcement Suicide. BJA began 

supporting the program in FY 2008. “In Harm’s 

Way” provides a resource toolkit that can be 

customized for any local agency to present to its 

police academy classes or at suicide prevention 

awareness training for officers who are 

already on the force. In FY 2009, BJA awarded 

$400,000 to St. Petersburg College to present 

“In Harm’s Way” at 12 national train-the-trainer 

seminars and to enhance the current web site. 

For more information, go to http://policesuicide.

spcollege.edu/indexIHW.htm. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 41

BJA also assisted IACP with its development 

of the CD–ROM Preventing Law Enforcement 

Officer Suicide: A Compilation of Resources and 

Best Practices, which may be ordered through 

the National Criminal Justice Reference Service 

web site at www.ncjrs.gov/app/publications/

abstract.aspx?ID=246399.

Combating Mortgage Fraud

In January 2009, BJA convened a working group 

of representatives from communities in different 

regions of the country to examine crime as 

both a cause and a result of foreclosures. 

Communities throughout the country were 

experiencing rapid increases in vacant properties 

in their neighborhoods that provided fertile 

environments for crimes ranging from vagrancy 

and theft of copper pipes to drug dealing and 

gang activity. In most cases, these vacancies 

were caused by foreclosures resulting from 

fraudulent mortgages. The working group 

was convened to advise BJA on what it could

do to help local and state agencies address 

these crimes. 

The working group reported that mortgage 

fraud continues to spread and evolve. People 

who commit fraud continually change their 

tactics and locations to stay ahead of law 

enforcement and cultivate new scams. 

Solutions to the problem cross the spectrum 

of public and private crime-suppression 

activities, from prevention to sentencing and 

from the community level to city, county, 

state, and federal agencies. Interagency and 

interjurisdictional task forces are essential for 

preventing, investigating, and prosecuting 

mortgage fraud. 

In response to the working group’s stated 

critical need for additional personnel to identify, 

prevent, investigate, and prosecute mortgage 

fraud and related crimes, BJA budgeted Recovery 

Act funds to address this growing problem. 

The FY 2009 Byrne Competitive solicitation 

emphasized interagency, interjurisdictional, and 

public-private collaborations. BJA’s strategy for 

combating mortgage fraud is to support federal, 

state, and local task forces with coordination, 

training, TA, and evaluation tailored to meet 

each jurisdiction’s needs, from prevention to 

adjudication and community mobilization to 

neighborhood restoration. In September 2009, 

BJA awarded eight grants totaling $10,751,902.

In FY 2010, BJA plans to provide resources 

and coordination for cross-training related to 

mortgage fraud and TA for federal, state, and 

local officials and private financial investigators. 

For BJA updates on mortgage fraud activities, 

go to www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/topics/mortgage_

fraud.html.

National Gang Center

Established in 2003, the National Gang 

Center (NGC) is a collaborative effort between 

BJA and OJJDP. NGC develops and delivers 

high-quality, anti-gang training for law 

enforcement agencies and communities such as 

“Basic Training for Street Gang Investigators,” 

which focuses on collecting gang intelligence, 

investigative techniques, gang suppression, 

case-building strategies, and legal considerations 

in prosecuting gang crimes; “Advanced Gang 

Investigations,” which enhances the abilities 

of experienced law enforcement professionals; 

and “Gang Unit Supervision,” which prepares 

participants to develop organizational and 

management strategies for their agency’s gang 

unit. In FY 2009, BJA awarded $500,000 to 

support NGC, which trained 192 personnel 

with these courses. 

NGC is also developing a new course, the “Basic 

Gang Investigator Course for Tribal Police in 

Indian Country,” which will meet a previously 

unaddressed need. In FY 2010, NGC will merge 

with OJJDP’s National Youth Gang Center, in 
42 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

existence since 1995. For more information 

about NGC, go to www.nationalgangcenter.gov. 

Bulletproof Vest

Partnership Program

Congress created the Bulletproof Vest 

Partnership Program (BVP) to help state and local 

jurisdictions purchase body armor vests for their 

law enforcement officers; BVP funds up to 50 

percent of the cost of each vest. Under current 

legislation, jurisdictions with fewer than 100,000 

residents are funded first. Any remaining funds 

are distributed on a pro rata basis to jurisdictions 

with more than 100,000 residents. BJA works 

with NIJ to ensure that the vests purchased 

meet the latest standards.

In FY 2009, BVP made 3,928 awards totaling 

$22,720,316. BJA also updated the BVP 

system to meet the new NIJ vest standard; 

BVP will release funds to grantees only for 

vests that meet the NIJ standard. Finally, BJA 

is researching ways to waive the requirement 

that jurisdictions pay 50 percent of the cost 

per vest for jurisdictions in financial hardship 

and is reviewing possible solutions to inflated 

application requests and large BVP fund 

balances.

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S 

Bulletproof Vests Save 13

From data maintained and verified by IACP and the 

DuPont Kevlar Survivors’ Club, BJA determined that in 

2009, 13 law enforcement officers were saved from 

death and life-threatening injuries because of the 

bullet-resistant body armor they were wearing when 

they were involved in a confrontation or a motor 

vehicle accident. Eleven of the agencies employing 

these officers have received funds from the BVP 

program.

One of the officers was Corporal Barney E. Parsons of 

the Fort Smith Police Department in Arkansas. Working 

an enhanced drunk driving enforcement program, 

Cpl. Parsons stopped a motor vehicle for traffic 

violations. While approaching the stopped vehicle, he 

was ambushed by its driver, who suddenly emerged 

from the vehicle firing a 9 mm handgun. Two rounds 

struck Cpl. Parsons in the right leg and a third bullet 

hit him in the chest, knocking him to the ground; Cpl. 

Parsons’ level II bullet-resistant vest prevented the 

third bullet from penetrating his chest. The assailant 

then shot Cpl. Parsons in the right foot, Cpl. Parsons 

returned fire, and the assailant fled. Cpl. Parsons was 

treated for the gunshot wounds to his leg and foot; 

he was released 3 days after the incident and has 

fully recovered and returned to duty. The assailant 

was arrested in New Mexico.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 43

C H A P T E R 7

SUPPORTING INNOVATION

IN ADJUDICATION 

mental health courts and the broad application 

of problem-solving principles in regular courts. 

Drug courts (see chapter 3) are a specific, highly 

successful application of these principles and 

those developed by the National Association of 

Drug Court Professionals. Community courts, 

on the other hand, represent a new step in 

the problem-solving arena. The CommunityBased Problem-Solving Criminal Justice Initiative 

supports this broadening of scope, targeting 

new defendant populations and using key 

problem-solving principles (e.g., links to social 

services, rigorous judicial monitoring, and 

aggressive community outreach) outside of 

the specialized court context. These principles 

emphasize collaboration, engagement with local 

stakeholders, and individualization of sanctions 

to encourage justice practitioners to embrace 

local priorities, resources, and circumstances. 

It is also important that defendants/offenders 

are screened and assessed for needs and risks, 

that court options are developed to meet the 

needs of the defendant/offender, and that 

these options produce the best outcomes in 

reducing recidivism.

BJA strongly encourages taking problemsolving justice principles to scale. Accordingly, 

in partnership with the Center for Court 

Innovation, BJA provides TA to jurisdictions to 

help them apply these principles and achieve 

more meaningful outcomes for victims, 

P

rosecutors, judges, and court personnel 

are looking for new approaches to 

adjudicating offenders that will not only 

clear cases and decrease dockets but also lower 

recidivism rates. Throughout the country, courts 

are recognizing that crimes involving violent and 

nonviolent offenders require special efforts to 

ensure not only that these offenders are held 

accountable but that they are returned to the 

community with the services and supervision 

they need to stop offending. Additionally, state 

and local prosecutors, defense attorneys, and 

judges face the challenge of meeting increasing 

needs with limited resources. It is local court 

personnel who will decide how to meet those 

needs. However, BJA is committed to providing 

these people with the resources, tools, and 

support they need to test their ideas. Through 

problem-solving and community-based justice 

initiatives, BJA seeks to improve adjudication 

processes, enhance services to victims, and 

increase public trust in the justice system. By 

providing special training and funding, BJA also 

supports stakeholders in capital case litigation 

and the state and local jurisdictions that bear 

much of the burden of prosecution along the 

nation’s Southern and Northern borders. 

Problem-Solving Courts

Problem-solving justice encompasses both 

specialized courts such as drug courts and 
44 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

communities, litigants, and defendants. As 

part of this initiative, the center operates 

more than a dozen demonstration projects in 

New York City, including the award-winning 

Midtown Community Court and the Red Hook 

Community Justice Center that serve as real-life 

laboratories where new ideas can be tested. The 

idea is spreading internationally: by the end of 

FY 2009, more than 70 community courts were 

in operation around the globe based on the 

model created by the center.

In FY 2009, under the Community-Based 

Problem-Solving Criminal Justice Initiative, 

the Center for Court Innovation:

■ Hosted more than 650 practitioners who 

attended demonstration projects at their 

own expense. 

■ Assisted Orange County and San Francisco, 

California, and West Dallas, Texas, in 

launching community courts; and 

Newark, New Jersey, in planning for a 

community court.

■ Selected community courts in Dallas, 

Texas; Hartford, Connecticut; and Seattle, 

Washington, to serve as regional mentors 

that advance the community court model by 

making it easier for interested jurisdictions to 

make site visits and see a community court 

at work. 

■ Published a report on a roundtable with 

state and national leaders about statewide 

coordination of problem-solving courts 

entitled A New Way of Doing Business: 

A Conversation about the Statewide 

Coordination of Problem-Solving Courts. The 

center now moderates a peer-to-peer listserv 

on this topic which, by the end of FY 2009, 

involved nearly 60 subscribers. 

■ Presented at nearly 80 regional, national, 

and international conferences. These 

included statewide meetings for problemsolving courts in California, Colorado, 

Connecticut, Indiana, and New York, as well 

as conferences sponsored by the Community 

Capacity Development Office, the National 

Criminal Justice Association, and the National 

Association of Drug Court Professionals. 

■ Expanded the center’s web site, www.

courtinnovation.org, by adding 20 new 

articles, interviews, and other features. 

The site attracts more than 60,000 visitors 

and enables more than 26,000 document 

downloads each month; it is part of the 

center’s aggressive use of new media—

from podcasts and blogs to YouTube and 

Facebook—to expand its audience. 

■ Produced more than 20 new publications to 

provide practitioners with concrete tools and 

spark reform efforts. 

■ Responded to nearly 450 requests for advice 

in planning or improving community-based 

public safety strategies, site visits to the 

center’s demonstration projects, document 

reviews, and copies of publications. 

■ Hosted and moderated the “Court-Builders” 

listserv, which in 2009 had more than 200 

participants. Topics discussed included using 

AmeriCorps members and addressing the 

needs of homeless clients.

Community Prosecution 

Community prosecution is founded on the idea 

that prosecutors have a responsibility not only 

to prosecute cases but also to address public 

safety issues, prevent crime, and improve public 

confidence in the justice system. Community 

prosecution manifests itself differently in each 

jurisdiction, reflecting local safety priorities, 

staff outlook, community resources, and local 

laws. Nonetheless, three principles generally 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 45

apply to community prosecution: recognizing 

the community’s role in public safety, engaging 

in problem solving, and establishing and 

maintaining partnerships. To this end, working 

relationships are formed with other justice 

agencies such as law enforcement and probation 

departments and with non-justice agencies such 

as schools, faith-based groups, and social service 

agencies. 

In FY 2009, BJA awarded one national TTA grant 

to the National District Attorneys Association 

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

Community Prosecution Resolves Local Issues

club that was the source of nearly 25 percent of 

the violent crime on that police beat. Nearby 

business owners had frequently complained of 

returning to their businesses on Monday mornings 

to find them pockmarked with AK–47 rounds. 

The community prosecutor and a detective met 

repeatedly with the business owner, a convicted 

felon, and the property owner to address the 

criminal activity at the club as well as its code, 

fire, and zoning violations. As a result of these 

meetings, the club owner closed his business 

and terminated the lease. 

The drug trade in Haverstraw, New York, took 

a hit in 2009, thanks to community prosecution 

efforts in Rockland County. In September 2009, 

three village residents were arrested on welfare 

fraud and narcotics charges in a sweeping probe 

sparked by the concerns of local community 

members. The mutual trust forged between a 

Senior Assistant District Attorney, Haverstraw Police, 

and several citizens helped to crack a criminal 

scheme to abuse the federal Section 8 housing 

benefits program and led to the takedown of 

an illicit cocaine-selling operation. As the county’s 

Intelligence-Led Approach to Community Safety 

program matures, problem-solving teams of 

citizens, prosecutors, and law enforcement 

officers are making a difference.

In 2009, community prosecutors in Honolulu, 

Hawaii, met with residents, businesses, nonprofits, 

and police to address drug activity, escalating 

violence, and recent stabbings in the vicinity of 

a bar located in the heart of Honolulu’s business 

district. The prosecutors encouraged these 

stakeholders to request prompt corrective action 

by the bar’s owner, enforcement action by the 

property manager, or regulatory action by the 

Honolulu Liquor Commission. The stakeholders, 

including the Honolulu Culture and Arts District, 

Fort Street Mall Business Improvement District, 

and Hawaii Theatre, formed a Neighborhood 

Watch group, which prepared a petition asking 

the Honolulu Liquor Commission to revoke the 

bar’s liquor license. The petition was supported 

by neighboring establishments, police crime 

statistics, and 200 signatures from nearby 

businesses and residents. In April 2009, during 

the Honolulu Liquor Commission hearings, the 

owner sold her business and the high-publicity 

conflict was resolved. The new owner renovated 

the once rat-infested property and opened a 

popular nightclub; no problems have been 

reported under the new management. 

A Dallas community prosecutor worked closely 

with the Dallas Police Department’s Nuisance 

Abatement Unit to close down an after-hours 
46 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

(NDAA) for $500,000. Following are its key 

accomplishments and deliverables:

■ The release and distribution of the revised 

Key Principles of Community Prosecution,

which will ensure that the overriding goals of 

community prosecution are met as efforts to 

adapt those principles to varying local needs 

advance throughout the country. 

■ The 4th National Community Prosecution 

Conference, attended by 108 participants, 

which covered topics such as the new 

Key Principles of Community Prosecution,

mortgage fraud, organized retail crime, 

truancy, drug market intervention, and 

chronic public drinkers.

■ Seven indepth TA responses, one of which 

allowed the Chicago District Attorney to 

reopen her community prosecution office. 

Providing onsite TA enables local sites to 

implement community prosecution without 

direct federal funding.

■ Two issues of the Building Bridges

community prosecutor newsletter.

In FY 2010, BJA intends to work with the 

Association of Prosecuting Attorneys to 

develop and validate performance measures 

for community prosecution, to continue 

providing TA and resources to the field, and to 

host the 5th National Community Prosecution 

Conference. 

Capital Case Litigation Initiative

The purpose of the Capital Case Litigation 

Initiative (CCLI) is to provide high-quality TTA 

on death penalty issues to attorneys and judges 

who litigate these cases. Capital case litigation 

consists of two trials (a guilty phase and a 

penalty phase), and is governed by unique 

evidentiary rules and processes. BJA recognizes 

that proper legal training is essential to help 

ensure reliable jury verdicts and minimize

post-conviction litigation. In 2009, three of 

BJA’s training partners helped educate attorneys 

and judges under CCLI.

The National Judicial College (NJC) delivered 

a 2-day pilot cross-disciplinary training 

in Richmond, Virginia, and Philadelphia, 

Pennsylvania, entitled “Best Practices in 

Death Penalty Cases: A Workshop for Judges 

and Attorneys.” It was attended by judges, 

prosecutors, and defense attorneys. A 

“Managing the Capital Case in California” 

course took place in San Francisco, with NJC 

collaborating with the Center for Judicial 

Education and Research to present 2 days of 

instruction on general issues of importance 

and 2 days of instruction on California’s death 

penalty law. NJC also held a meeting with state 

teams from Alabama, Arizona, Missouri, and 

Oklahoma to develop state-specific curricula. 

The 30 participants completed first drafts of 

their curricula and began work on logistics and 

further curriculum development. One of these 

states—Oklahoma—held a “Best Practices in 

Death Penalty Cases” training in Midwest City 

that was attended by 51 state prosecuting 

attorneys, defense attorneys, and judges. 

Alabama, Arizona, and Missouri plan to 

hold their own cross-discipline courses in 

the next project period. For more information

on NJC’s support to judges and others 

involved in capital case litigation, go to 

www.capitalcasesresources.org.

NDAA and the National Association of Criminal 

Defense Lawyers each provided trainings 

for their respective constituencies. NDAA 

provided two prosecutorial trainings at the 

National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South 

Carolina, with the first training focusing on 

the qualification of jurors during the selection 

process and the second focusing on the penalty 

phase of prosecution. The association offered 

two “bring-your-own-case” capital defense 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 47

trainings in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Tampa, 

Florida, which were attended by 18 and 31 

participants, respectively, from jurisdictions in 

the region, and by 10–15 senior faculty from 

throughout the country.

Southwest Border 

Prosecution Initiative

The Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative 

(SWBPI) provides funds to eligible jurisdictions 

in the four Southwest border states—Arizona, 

California, New Mexico, and Texas—for 

qualifying federally initiated and referred 

criminal cases. The goal of the program is 

to reimburse the prosecution and pre-trial 

detention costs of jurisdictions on the Southwest 

border for cases that the federal government 

declined and referred to these jurisdictions. 

SWBPI differs from other grant programs in that 

it reimburses costs incurred by state and local 

jurisdictions. In FY 2009, BJA administered 56 

FY 2008 grant awards totaling $28,495,715, 

reimbursing local jurisdictions for 9,908 cases 

that were federally declined. Without this 

funding, the state and local jurisdictions would 

be unable to prosecute these cases. 

SWBPI was updated in FY 2009 to meet the 

Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) audit 

recommendations. Jurisdictions now are 

required to provide specific case data including 

the hours worked on each case and the daily 

detention rate. These data ensure that SWBPI 

makes its awards based on the actual cost, 

time, and effort required for the prosecuted 

cases submitted for reimbursement. BJA is 

also transitioning the program to an annual 

application (rather than a quarterly application) 

to align it with other payment programs, resolve 

the problem of jurisdictions submitting cases 

in the wrong quarter, and allow jurisdictions 

more time to gather their case data. BJA is also 

working with SWBPI’s participants to create a 

new way of calculating and applying awards 

that better captures the costs associated with 

prosecuting the federally declined and referred 

cases. These changes will be in place for the 

FY 2010 SWBPI application period.

For further information, go to www.ojp.usdoj.

gov/BJA/grant/southwest.html. 

Northern Border 

Prosecution Initiative 

In FY 2009, the Northern Border Prosecution 

Initiative (NBPI) system was brought online. 

BJA worked with OJP’s Office of the Chief 

Information Officer to base the new system on 

the latest OIG recommendations for the SWBPI 

system. Once operational, the NBPI program 

reimbursed 16 jurisdictions2

 for 32,000 cases 

that were federally declined and referred to 

local jurisdictions. Without this funding, the 

state and local jurisdictions would be unable 

to prosecute these federal cases. Like SWBPI, 

NBPI is transitioning to an annual application 

for reimbursement (rather than a quarterly 

application) to align it with other payment 

programs, resolve the problem of jurisdictions 

submitting cases in the wrong quarter, and allow 

jurisdictions more time to gather their case data. 

For more information, go to www.ojp.usdoj.gov/

BJA/grant/northernborder.html. 

2

 Eligible states are Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, 

Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Only 16 jurisdictions from these states chose to apply.

FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 49

C H A P T E R 8

COUNTERING TERRORISM AND

PLANNING FOR EMERGENCIES

requesting agencies. In addition, 1,683 SLATT®

publications were downloaded from www.slatt.

org, which hosted 37,968 total user sessions at 

an average of 3,164 sessions per month. 

The SLATT® Terrorist and Criminal Extremist 

Incidents database, originally launched in 1996, 

is the only database developed exclusively for 

law enforcement that provides both current 

and historic data aligned with the Nationwide 

Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative. 

During FY 2009, the database was expanded 

to include SAR activity codes and infrastructure 

codes. Users can now search the database 

using keywords or by selecting specific SAR 

activity codes, thus enhancing the value of the 

database and leveraging an existing resource to 

support a priority initiative. To facilitate access 

to a wide range of professionals engaged in the 

criminal justice and homeland security arenas, 

no restricted information is included. The SAR 

enhancements are being evaluated at 12 test 

sites, and SLATT® plans to roll out the expanded 

functionalities to all vetted users during FY 

2010.

SLATT® highlights for FY 2009 include the 

following:

■ SLATT® presented its first anti-terrorism 

workshop focused on Southwest border issues 

in Victoria, Texas, to an audience of 172 law 

As indicated in the Fiscal Years 2001–2012 

Strategic Plan, DOJ is committed to 

taking steps to “prevent, disrupt, and 

defeat terrorism operations before they occur.” 

To this end, BJA supports heightened terrorism 

awareness among law enforcement agencies 

and communities. BJA also supports preparation 

for pandemics and planning for continuity of 

operations during any crisis, so that the rule of 

law is maintained. 

State and Local Anti-Terrorism 

Training Program

The State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training 

Program (SLATT®) was created by BJA following 

the Oklahoma City bombing in 1996 and 

expanded following September 11, 2001. 

SLATT’s primary objective is to deliver specialized 

training in terrorism/extremism interdiction, 

investigation, and prevention to state and local 

law enforcement agencies. In FY 2009, with $2 

million in funding from BJA, SLATT® delivered 

93 workshops to 8,861 law enforcement 

professionals—far exceeding the program’s 

grant requirements. SLATT® distributed 122,040 

of its pocket guides (e.g., Warning Signs of 

Terrorist Events, Law Enforcement Intelligence, 

and Fraudulent Document Detection) and other 

reference materials to workshop participants and 
50 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

enforcement professionals representing border 

patrols, sheriffs’ offices, and other state and 

local agencies.

■ SLATT® presented a very successful and 

innovative Law Enforcement Executive Summit 

in Redwood City, California, to an audience of 

236 law enforcement executives. 

■ In response to current trends and indicators 

of an increase in radicalization, SLATT®

developed and now offers a 1- or 2-day 

“Anti-Terrorism Workshop for Campus Law 

Enforcement,” which features topics such as 

violent radicalization on college campuses and 

political extremism/terrorism on campuses. 

■ In response to increased activity on the 

domestic terrorism and criminal extremism 

front, as evidenced by recent arrests, 

SLATT® extensively revised and expanded its 

radicalization presentation.

■ SLATT® added two new modules to its web 

site, www.slatt.org—“Lessons Learned From 

Lockerbie” and “Sayyid Qutb: Philosopher of 

Religious Violence and the Inspiration of al 

Qaeda.”

In FY 2010, SLATT® plans to add podcasts to 

its menu of online training activities and will 

resume support for the Communities Against 

Terrorism program, currently funded under its 

own grant.

Communities Against Terrorism

The Communities Against Terrorism (CAT) 

program is predicated on the theory that nearly 

all acts of terror are preceded by discernible 

behavior and activity that will bring members of 

terror cells into contact with service providers 

and neighborhood businesses. Following analysis 

of previous foreign and domestic acts of terror, 

CAT outlines potential indicators of terrorism 

for various industries and offers templates of 

industry-specific fliers designed for distribution 

to businesses. The fliers can be customized 

with contact information for the local law 

enforcement agency. Accompanying tutorials 

prepare officers to work with the community, 

and an automated presentation outlines the 

program. The CAT program is available to 

officers via CD–ROM or online and is updated 

regularly with new business and industry 

information as the methods and tactics of terror 

cells evolve. The most recent additions to the 

topics addressed by the program are peroxidebased explosives and the use of general aviation 

to conduct an attack. 

In FY 2009, more than 160 law enforcement 

agencies requested CD–ROMs containing CAT 

program materials. Many law enforcement 

agencies and industry organizations have 

made program fliers available via the Internet, 

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

Outreach Efforts Pay Off for 

New York State

New York State’s Operation Safeguard outreach 

program uses the Safeguarding America: It Starts 

With You DVD and the CAT program as training 

materials in its outreach efforts. In May 2009, at a 

self-storage facility that had received this outreach 

information on indicators and warnings of suspicious 

activity, an employee at a storage unit contacted 

the local police department to report something 

unusual he had observed. When officers checked out 

the individuals associated with the storage unit, they 

found that the New York FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force 

already had them under surveillance. This confirmed 

the effectiveness of the outreach efforts in helping to 

uncover terrorist activity in New York State.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 51

including the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 

Wisconsin, the Delaware Information Analysis 

Center, the City of Reno, the Society of Industrial 

Security Professionals, ASIS International, the 

Washington State Department of Agriculture, 

Southern Nevada Infragard, the Massachusetts 

State Police, and the Florida Association of 

Self-Storage Facilities. Two new CAT fliers were 

developed for shopping malls and general 

aviation facilities, bringing the total number of 

industries included in the program to 15. More 

than 10,840 CAT materials were distributed 

at SLATT® workshops, via www.slatt.org, and 

during law enforcement conferences. 

Support for CAT, currently funded under its own 

grant, will be resumed by SLATT® after FY 2009. 

Additional information, including access to 

program materials, is available at www.slatt.org.

Pandemic Planning

BJA awarded a grant to the Police Executive 

Research Forum (PERF) in 2006 so it could 

examine the law enforcement response to 

public health emergencies. Extensive discussions 

identified the need for publications that 

address three aspects of pandemic planning: 

risk communications, benchmarks for creating 

a pandemic flu plan, and occupational health 

and safety for law enforcement executives. The 

first report published—Communications and 

Public Health Emergencies: A Guide for Law 

Enforcement—identifies what law enforcement 

executives should consider when developing 

their public health communications plan for 

communications within the law enforcement 

agency as well as communications with the 

public. The second report, to be published 

in FY 2010, is Benchmarks for Developing 

a Law Enforcement Pandemic Flu Plan. This 

interactive guide will lead the reader through 

a planning process to help ensure continuity 

of law enforcement operations during a 

pandemic event and will link to sample plans 

and templates for the user to download and 

customize. These documents are available on 

the PERF web site at www.policeforum.org.

Continuity of Operations

BJA partners with AU to assist local and 

state courts in undertaking planning and 

implementation processes critical to ensuring 

that state judicial systems have the ability to 

maintain the rule of law in a pandemic crisis. 

In FY 2009, AU sent a letter to all state chief 

justices, state court administrators, and state 

judicial educators, alerting them to the TTA 

services available through BJA’s Criminal Courts 

Technical Assistance Project (CCTAP). Enclosed 

with these letters were copies of the Guidelines 

for Pandemic Emergency Preparedness 

Planning: A Road Map for Courts, a human 

resources planning fact sheet, and CD–ROMs 

that summarize the guidelines and provide 

information on “Justice Partnerships,” prepared 

under the BJA National Training and Technical 

Assistance Project. AU also distributed these 

materials at the national conference of the 

National Association for Court Management.

In response to the letters, CCTAP received 

requests from two states: Virginia and North 

Dakota. The Virginia Supreme Court established 

a committee to develop a pandemic/public 

health emergency plan and asked CCTAP 

to provide a keynote speaker for the kickoff 

meeting of the committee in March 2009. 

CCTAP responded by sending Judge John 

Cleland of Pennsylvania, who described the 

committee structure and planning efforts in his 

state as well as relevant developments underway 

in other states. North Dakota asked CCTAP 

to conduct a special workshop, planned for 

November 2009, on pandemic/public health 

preparedness planning at the state judicial 

conference. AU also supported the Pennsylvania 

Administrative Office of the Court (AOC) in 

planning and conducting a public health seminar 
52 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

for judges in May 2009 at which the guidelines 

and a briefing paper were also distributed. 

CCTAP support also included identifying, 

through the state chief justices, judges from six 

states and territories to attend the program and 

provide feedback on its potential value to their 

jurisdictions. 

AU began planning with the Louisiana AOC 

for development of a template for auditing 

the status of continuity of operations (COOP) 

planning among the state’s trial courts, 

incorporating into this template the status 

of planning for public health/pandemic 

emergencies. AU also participated in the 

citywide COOP planning meeting organized by 

the District of Columbia’s offender supervision 

agency.

Further information on CCTAP’s pandemic 

preparedness/public health emergency planning 

activities can be found at www.american.edu/

justice.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 53

C H A P T E R 9

ADDRESSING CRIME AND

JUSTICE FOR AMERICAN INDIANS

AND ALASKA NATIVES

issues, which is necessary for the effective 

administration of justice. 

■ Preventing and controlling crime and alcohol 

and substance abuse. 

■ Stopping the spread of controlled substances 

into tribal communities. 

■ Supporting the resolution of community 

differences through traditional dispute 

resolution and alternative sanctions. 

■ Enhancing the technological capacity of tribal 

information systems to share justice-related 

information with offices and agencies internal 

and external to the jurisdiction. 

■ Helping to plan, renovate, and construct 

correctional facilities on tribal lands for the 

incarceration of offenders subject to tribal 

jurisdiction. 

BJA also coordinates with other DOJ 

components such as the Office of Tribal 

Justice and with other federal and national 

organizations such as the Department of the 

Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National 

Institute of Corrections, and the Department 

of Health and Human Services, as well as state, 

local, and tribal agencies and organizations, to 

ensure that limited federal funds are used to 

achieve the maximum possible benefit. Through 

BJA works with tribes to provide 

leadership, management, TTA, and 

quality services in grant administration 

and policy development. The various programs 

administered by BJA help tribal communities 

prevent and control crime, violence, and 

substance abuse and improve the functioning 

of criminal justice systems in their communities. 

BJA administers three tribal justice programs 

that are limited to federally recognized tribal 

governments, including Alaska Native villages 

and corporations, and authorized tribal 

consortia. They are the Tribal Courts Assistance 

Program, the Indian Alcohol and Substance 

Abuse Program, and the Correctional Facilities 

on Tribal Lands Program. Through these 

programs, BJA supports tribal communities by:

■ Working collaboratively with American Indian 

and Alaska Native officials to develop and 

enhance safer, more compassionate tribal 

communities. 

■ Partnering with tribal officials to develop, 

implement, and enhance criminal and 

civil justice systems that reflect the tribal 

community’s values, needs, and expectations. 

■ Fostering communication and developing 

viable partnerships among tribal, federal, 

state, and local units of government 

to coordinate and resolve jurisdictional 
54 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

these valued partnerships, BJA is better able 

to craft strategies and policies that address the 

needs of tribes and to implement the programs 

noted below.

Tribal Courts Assistance Program

The Tribal Courts Assistance Program (TCAP) 

provides funding and TTA for federally 

recognized tribal governments to develop, 

implement, and enhance tribal justice 

systems. TCAP enables tribal courts to support 

court services and programs that meet the 

unique needs of tribal communities such as 

establishing a core structure for a tribal court; 

developing civil and criminal codes; enhancing 

prosecution and indigent defense; improving 

case management; funding and training 

essential court personnel such as judges, clerks, 

prosecutors, public defenders, and probation 

officers; conducting court assessment and 

strategic planning; supporting probation and 

alternative sentencing; and acquiring equipment 

and software to improve court capacity and 

efficiency through technology. In FY 2009, BJA 

awarded 27 TCAP grants totaling $4,182,528.

BJA partnered with the University of North 

Dakota School of Law, the Tribal Judicial 

Institute, and the National Tribal Judicial Center 

to provide TTA to support TCAP grantees. In FY 

2009, BJA enabled the Tribal Judicial Institute to 

conduct 19 TCAP training events for more 

than 1,200 individuals. In addition, TCAP 

funding supported more than 60 scholarships 

for BJA and non-BJA grantees to attend national 

TTA events and 11 onsite TA visits to tribes. 

The National Tribal Judicial Center conducted 

7 training events for more than 300 people and 

provided 39 scholarships for tribal judges and 

court personnel to attend training events.

Indian Alcohol and Substance 

Abuse Program

Initiated in 2001, the Indian Alcohol and 

Substance Abuse Program (IASAP) helps 

federally recognized tribal governments to plan, 

implement, or enhance culturally appropriate 

strategies for addressing crime related to alcohol 

and substance abuse. Key objectives include 

preventing and reducing alcohol and substance 

abuse-related crimes, traffic fatalities, and 

injuries; apprehending and prosecuting illegal 

drug and alcohol smugglers, dealers, and users; 

making culturally appropriate treatment readily 

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

BJA Funds Help Tohono 

O’dham Nation Alleviate 

Overcrowding (Arizona)

Overcrowding had been a chronic problem for 

Tohono O’odham Nation juvenile and adult 

detention facilities. In 2003, TA consultants toured 

the facilities to get a better understanding of 

the conditions, programmatic challenges, and 

implications for a new facility design. The visits 

confirmed the extreme crowding in both facilities. 

On the day of the tour, there were 120 individuals 

in the adult facility, which had a rated capacity of 

35. In the juvenile facility, only one dayroom was 

available for meals and watching television; boys 

and girls had to be scheduled to use the room at 

different times, resulting in the youth spending a 

significant amount of time in their shared bedrooms.

Six years after the consultants’ tour, severe 

overcrowding has been ameliorated. The new 

Tohono O’odham Nation detention facility, funded 

by DOJ and completed in September 2009, 

provides 69 additional adult beds, 8 juvenile beds, 

a juvenile classroom, a new food service unit, and 

an area for intake and other support functions. The 

new facility is also designed for a direct-supervision 

model of operation. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 55

available to tribal members; and increasing 

coordination to foster internal and external 

partnerships. In FY 2009, BJA awarded eight 

IASAP grants totaling $2,366,458 to tribes 

in Alaska, Arizona, California, Kansas, and 

Washington.

In FY 2009 BJA, in conjunction with Fox Valley 

Technical College’s Criminal Justice Center 

for Innovation, conducted 15 training events 

for more than 600 individuals. BJA facilitated 

outreach to tribal communities, provided IASAP 

funding to support 10 onsite TA visits, and 

awarded 381 scholarships to BJA and nonBJA grantees that enabled tribal officials to 

attend national TTA events. In addition, BJA 

made eight awards totaling $3,582,831 to 

seven organizations to help tribal jurisdictions, 

including non-BJA grantees, develop strategies 

to address crime related to substance abuse or 

to implement tribal justice systems.

Correctional Facilities on 

Tribal Lands 

The Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands (CFTL) 

Discretionary Grant Program provides funding 

for site-based and TTA projects. Under the 

site-based solicitation, applicants are limited 

to federally recognized tribal governments, as 

defined under the Indian Self-Determination 

Act, 25 United States Code 450b(e). Under the 

TTA solicitation, eligible applicants are limited 

to tribal and non-tribal for-profit (commercial) 

organizations, nonprofit organizations, 

faith-based and community organizations, 

institutions of higher learning, and consortia 

with demonstrated national experience in 

working with tribal representatives to plan and 

construct correctional facilities that serve local 

and regional needs. 

In FY 2009, the CFTL solicitation (separate from 

the Recovery Act: CFTL solicitation) focused on 

efforts to cost-effectively plan for and renovate 

and construct facilities associated with the 

incarceration and rehabilitation of juvenile and 

adult offenders subject to tribal jurisdiction. 

Funding also allowed tribes to explore 

community-based alternatives to help control 

and prevent jail overcrowding due to alcohol 

and other substance abuse. Eligible applicants 

could apply for planning, renovation, or 

construction funding. BJA awarded 11 planning 

grants and 7 renovation grants. 

In addition, BJA awarded a grant to the Justice 

Solutions Group (JSG) to provide assistance 

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

DOJ Funding Helps Build 

New Juvenile Detention and 

Rehabilitation Center (Arizona)

When the National Institute of Corrections reviewed 

and assessed the Hualapai and Supai detention 

facilities in Arizona, it recommended joint 

planning among the Truxton Canyon tribes for the 

development and joint use of a regional juvenile 

detention and rehabilitation center. The regional 

tribes took up this suggestion. With funding from 

the Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands program, 

the Hualapai Juvenile Detention and Rehabilitation 

Center—a 30-bed juvenile facility—opened on 

April 20, 2009. 

Designed to serve the juvenile detainees of five 

tribes, the center has a library, provides an online 

computer program that the juveniles use for school 

purposes, offers Native classes at least twice a week, 

and features a sweat lodge built and used by both 

the center staff and juveniles. Further, since the close 

of FY 2009, with funding from OJJDP, the center 

has been teaching these youth about sustainable 

agriculture and green building, substantially 

increasing their job opportunities as they return to 

their tribal communities.
56 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

to site-based projects that receive funding 

under CFTL. During FY 2009, JSG delivered 

the weeklong “PACIFIC Workshop” (Planning 

Alternatives and Correctional Institutions For 

Indian Country), which synthesizes information, 

both technical and anecdotal, on all aspects of 

assessing justice system operations; alternatives 

to incarceration; and planning, design, and 

construction of new correctional facilities 

on tribal lands. The PACIFIC Workshop was 

delivered for FY 2007 and FY 2008 planning 

grant recipients twice during spring 2009.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 57

C H A P T E R 1 0

ADVANCING INFORMATION

SHARING AND TECHNOLOGY

TO FIGHT CRIME 

General—on standards-based electronic 

information sharing throughout the justice and 

public safety communities. GAC serves as the 

executive leadership group for the Global Justice 

Information Sharing Initiative (Global), which 

houses four working groups on infrastructure 

and standards, intelligence, privacy and 

information quality, and security. The specific 

outcomes from each of the working groups are 

described below; collectively, they portray the 

full body of work for Global in FY 2009. For 

more information and to access the resources 

listed, visit www.it.ojp.gov/global.

Global Infrastructure/

Standards Working Group

During FY 2009, Global Infrastructure/

Standards Working Group (GISWG) activities 

focused on supporting the development and 

implementation of the Global Justice Reference 

Architecture (JRA), a blueprint for implementing 

a common approach for sharing information. 

JRA harnesses the power of well-established 

industry standards—in particular, serviceoriented architecture (SOA)—to reconcile the 

common need to share information on decisions 

made regarding local technology architecture 

and information system implementation. A 

series of resources (see page 66 for further 

details) focused on JRA’s adoption and 

T

he diverse nature of the approximately 

100,000 agencies in the justice and 

public safety community presents many 

challenges to interoperability and information 

sharing. Differences in existing technology, 

operational requirements, security, and privacy 

considerations all must be addressed. Improving 

the sharing of information among components 

of the justice system and other nontraditional 

partners is critical to ensuring the long-term 

safety of American citizens. Enabling access 

to the right information at the right time 

increases the ability of local, state, tribal, and 

federal justice agencies to solve crimes and 

keep communities safer; BJA is committed to 

providing the resources and assistance these 

agencies need to improve the justice system 

through information sharing and access to 

technology.

Global Justice Information 

Sharing Initiative

Chartered in 1998, DOJ’s Global Advisory 

Committee (GAC) is expressly structured to 

function as a unique partnership of leaders 

from across all areas of the justice community. 

It serves as the Federal Advisory Committee, 

providing recommendations to America’s chief 

law enforcement officer—the U.S. Attorney 
58 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

guidelines were released in draft for comment 

by GISWG and, in some cases, approved by 

GAC for final publication. These products 

are the essential components for building 

JRA-conformant SOA strategies, as well as 

implementing web services or other messagelevel information sharing consistent with JRA 

principles and methodologies. For the first time, 

a complete framework is available for justice 

agencies to use in adopting industry-standard 

architectures independently while maintaining 

close alignment with complementary efforts 

nationwide. For this reason, Global’s work on 

JRA will move the country significantly forward 

in technological capabilities due to cost savings 

through reuse, interoperability through common 

technology specifications, and greater ability 

to meet the ever-changing needs of the justice 

community.

Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council/

Global Intelligence Working Group

The Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council 

(CICC) works closely with Global through the 

Global Intelligence Working Group (GIWG) and 

other partners jointly to address issues relating 

to the collection, handling, and dissemination 

of criminal intelligence information. FY 2009 

accomplishments for CICC/GIWG include the 

following:

■ In collaboration with the Major Cities Chiefs 

Association, development of the report 

Findings and Recommendations of the 

Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Support 

and Implementation Project, which contains 

guidelines to be used by cities and states 

to improve the gathering, documenting, 

processing, and sharing of information 

regarding suspicious activity—which may 

be indicative of terrorist-related incidents—

among cities, fusion centers, and participants 

in the Information Sharing Environment (ISE). 

To develop training for law enforcement 

personnel regarding the collection, analysis, 

and sharing of SARs in the context of the 

Nationwide SAR Initiative (NSI), CICC/GIWG 

also worked with federal partners, IACP, the 

Major Cities Chiefs Association, and several 

major cities and fusion centers.

■ Development of the Guidelines for 

Establishing and Operating Gang Intelligence 

Units and Task Forces, which provides 

guidance to agencies seeking to establish and 

operate a gang task force or gang intelligence 

unit within their jurisdiction or to those 

agencies that participate in one.

■ Development of Navigating Your Agency’s 

Path to Intelligence-Led Policing, which 

serves as an overview for implementing the 

intelligence-led policing framework within a 

law enforcement agency and provides insight 

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

Fusion Center Process 

Protects Privacy

To help intelligence enterprises comply with all 

applicable privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties 

protection laws, regulations, and policies while 

sharing information, Global’s Criminal Intelligence 

Coordinating Council developed the Compliance 

Verification Document for fusion centers to use in 

performing peer-to-peer assessments. Through a 

pilot by the DOJ/DHS Fusion Process Program, Florida 

and Georgia fusion centers completed the first of 

these assessments using the tool. In April 2010, the 

Compliance Verification Document will be made 

available to all fusion centers so that they can then 

complete this critical privacy protections assessment.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 59

regarding the challenges of implementing 

this type of policing. Law enforcement 

executives can use this document to help 

them implement the intelligence-led policing 

framework within their agency.

■ Continued collaboration with the U.S. 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 

and DOJ on the DHS/DOJ Fusion Process 

Technical Assistance Program. This joint 

initiative involves the development, vetting, 

and delivery of a catalog of services for fusion 

centers to assist them in implementing the 

Baseline Capabilities for State and Major 

Urban Area Fusion Centers. New courses 

include “Fusion Center Security” and “Fusion 

Center and Emergency Operations Center 

Information Sharing and Coordination.” 

CICC/GIWG also reviewed, edited, and 

released numerous fusion center-related 

documents such as Fusion Center Technology 

Resources Road Map; Defining Fusion Center 

Technology Business Processes: A Tool for 

Planning; Establishing a Fusion Liaison Officer 

Program: A Guidebook and Workbook of 

Planning and Development Consideration;

and Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 

502: Considerations for Fusion Center and 

Emergency Operations Center Coordination.

Global Privacy and Information 

Quality Working Group

Through the Global Privacy and Information 

Quality Working Group (GPIQWG), Global seeks 

to ensure that information-sharing activities 

are carried out in a manner consistent with 

legal and public requirements regarding the 

expectation of privacy. Information quality is 

also an important factor in making the data 

that are shared both meaningful and accurate, 

and in preventing incorrect data from being 

used improperly. During the reporting period, 

GPIQWG finalized the following three products, 

which are components of its Information 

Quality series: 

■ 9 Steps to an Information Quality Program.

Developed for high-level managerial and 

administrative personnel, this resource 

explains how to develop and implement an 

agency-wide information quality program. 

■ Information Quality Program Guide. This guide 

leads an agency through incremental steps 

to help its staff identify their information and 

products; determine what information quality 

dimensions apply to those products to ensure 

information quality; evaluate whether agency 

business rules are being met by using the selfassessment tool (described next); and identify 

how best to address those requirements not 

met by the agency.

■ Information Quality Self-Assessment Tool. A 

mandatory step for any agency developing an 

information quality program is the completion 

of an information quality self-assessment—the 

evaluation of agency information and reports 

associated with justice events. This document 

is composed of a matrix of self-assessment 

questions within a process framework that 

can be tailored to agency-specific processes. 

The series of questions it provides will help 

an agency determine its relative level of 

information quality and benchmarks for 

evaluation, improvement, and accountability. 

This tool will allow practitioners to identify the 

information points along an agency justice 

event and the roles associated with each 

phase; apply information quality dimensions 

to each point along this continuum; uncover 

gaps in policy that beget information quality 

problems; implement information quality in 

practice; and enhance overall understanding 

of the effects that an agency’s business 

processes have on information quality.
60 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

Global Security Working Group

The Global Security Working Group (GSWG) 

provides guidance on the safe and secure 

transmission of information during the 

information-sharing process. An agency cannot 

be comfortable sending data outside its control 

unless clearly defined protections and policies 

are in place to ensure that the data will not be 

misused or handled improperly. 

One of the key programs GSWG supports is 

the Global Federated Identity and Privilege 

Management (GFIPM) initiative. Federated 

identity is the concept of using one identity 

“credential” to access multiple systems. 

Although it may sound less secure to allow 

information system access to outside users, 

it is actually more secure because it ensures 

consistent, accurate, and up-to-date user 

credentials according to the terms of the 

federation. Other federation participants may 

then decide to accept or reject the user based 

on the information provided by the user’s 

home system.

A GFIPM delivery team is working in partnership 

with BJA to implement the current GFIPM 

framework and provide a reusable framework 

that delivers an efficient, effective solution 

for justice, public safety, and homeland 

security agencies. Tentatively known as the 

National Information Exchange Federation, 

the group serves as the demonstration arm 

for implementing and improving GFIPM-based 

information exchange with guidance from 

GSWG and BJA.

Specifically, GSWG has produced resources 

for immediate use, such as the GFIPM Web 

Services Concept of Development, the GFIPM 

Membership Documentation and Agreements 

Package, and the GFIPM Cryptographic Trust 

Model.

Fusion Center Training

and Technical Assistance

To facilitate the development of a national 

fusion center capability, BJA and DHS’s National 

Preparedness Directorate (NPD) partnered in 

2007 to develop the Fusion Process Technical 

Assistance Program. The DHS/DOJ Fusion Process 

program has also partnered with several other 

agencies and organizations in order to provide 

additional TTA services to fusion centers. This 

program has also played a key role in helping 

fusion centers to meet the baseline capabilities 

identified in the Baseline Capabilities for State 

and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers, and 

assisting them in sustainability through a 

national TTA program.

To accelerate the implementation of these 

baseline capabilities within all state and local 

fusion centers, this program offers a series 

of fusion center TA services that support the 

implementation of the Global Fusion Center 

Guidelines and the Office of the Director of 

National Intelligence (ODNI) Information Sharing 

Environment Implementation Plan. New TA 

services include “Fusion Center Security,” 

“Fusion Center and Emergency Operations 

Center Coordination,” and “28 C.F.R. Part 23 

Online Training.” 

Regional workshops for groups from fusion 

centers were sponsored by BJA, OJP, and DHS to 

enable fusion center personnel to interact and 

build capabilities in a collaborative environment. 

Because these workshops are based on common 

practices, protocols, documentation, and 

mission, they solidify the national network 

of fusion centers. Workshops were held in 

Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, 

South Carolina, and Utah. 

The regional workshops included updates 

and overviews on various national initiatives, 

including the development of baseline 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 61

capabilities for fusion centers; NSI; the 

development, review, and dissemination 

of fusion center products; privacy policy 

development and implementation; and 

services delivered through the DHS/DOJ Fusion 

Process Technical Assistance Program and 

Services, including fusion center security. These 

workshops also included roundtable discussions 

on issues affecting fusion centers and sharing of 

best practices.

Under the Fusion Center Privacy Technical 

Assistance (TA) Program, fusion centers have 

made substantial progress in drafting privacy 

policies and enacting privacy and civil rights/

civil liberties protections designed to protect 

the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of 

individuals who are the subjects of information 

and intelligence collection by centers. Of the 

72 fusion centers recognized by the National 

Fusion Center Coordination Group, BJA’s Privacy 

TA Review Team has received policies from 42 

state centers and 17 secondary/regional centers. 

Of those 59 centers, 28 (20 state centers and 8 

secondary centers) have incorporated the team’s 

feedback and have revised and resubmitted 

additional versions for review.

Review of Privacy and Civil Liberties Policies 

BJA coordinates several active cooperative 

agreements that support the development and 

implementation of privacy and civil liberties 

policies at the state and local level that will assist 

justice and public safety agencies in effectively 

managing the flow of information in a way 

that comports with their state and local laws. 

BJA coordinates at the federal level with DHS 

and the Program Manager for the Information 

Sharing Environment (PM–ISE) to ensure that a 

consistent message is delivered and resources 

are leveraged for the benefit of state and local 

agencies and fusion centers.

In FY 2008, BJA funded national organizations 

that successfully competed to conduct TTA 

in the areas of privacy and civil liberties. The 

five national partners are IIR, JMI, National 

Center for State Courts, National Governors 

Association (NGA), and National Consortium 

for Justice Information and Statistics (SEARCH). 

To approach the national TTA effort in a 

comprehensive and strategic way, BJA leads 

these national partners to work collaboratively 

rather than duplicate efforts, and directs them 

to specific tasks that reflect their particular 

expertise. BJA also continues to work with these 

national partners, as well as with GPIQWG 

(which consists of state and local practitioners), 

to develop resources. 

The coordination of national partners resulted 

in NGA taking the lead in issuing a competitive 

solicitation for states to participate in its Privacy 

Policy Academy—a 9-month effort that will lead 

to the development of a written privacy policy 

for their state criminal justice agencies. NGA’s 

three sub-awards were made to two states: 

Alabama (on behalf of a four-state consortium 

comprising Alabama, Nebraska, Kansas, and 

Wyoming, known as CONNECT) and Hawaii. 

Each state received approximately $26,000 for 

related expenses. SEARCH, IIR, and JMI are also 

providing TA to assist each participating state 

in successfully completing a written privacy and 

civil liberties policy. The Privacy Policy Academy 

will complete its 9-month effort in March 2010. 

The participating states will evaluate their 

activities for lessons learned and for replication 

in other states. 

Minimum Criminal Intelligence 

Training Standards

Recently, as part of its joint TTA program, BJA 

worked with PM–ISE and the DHS Chief Privacy 

Officer to identify resources and establish a 

procedure for recognizing those fusion centers 
62 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

whose privacy policies and procedures are 

“at least as comprehensive” as ISE’s privacy 

guidelines so that those fusion centers may 

access protected terrorism-related information 

from federal agencies through ISE. In early FY 

2010, the DHS Chief Privacy Officer will begin 

notifying fusion centers whose policies have met 

this requirement.

In addition, BJA has participated actively in 

meetings of the Counter-Terrorism Information 

Sharing Standards Committee, a working group 

begun at PM–ISE to strengthen standards for 

information sharing as it relates to counterterrorism efforts in law enforcement, justice, 

homeland security, and various other domains. 

The committee has worked in collaboration with 

many federal agencies and field practitioners 

to produce guidelines for implementing 

information sharing that apply to all levels, 

from the fusion center to the local agency.

Basics of Fusion Center Management 

Another comprehensive fusion process 

service is the “Basic Fusion Center Directors 

Management Course,” in development by 

BJA, DHS, and ODNI, and to be hosted at the 

Naval Postgraduate School. This course will 

allow fusion center directors of all backgrounds 

and tenure to reach the same level of 

understanding by covering five core categories: 

communications and information sharing, how 

to define information requirements, doctrines 

and processes, leadership principles, and 

strategies for the future.

Privacy and Civil 

Liberties Protections

Protecting the privacy and civil liberties of 

citizens is so closely tied to information-sharing 

efforts in every function, methodology, and 

policy that it is nearly impossible to separate 

privacy efforts from individual programs. This is 

evident at many levels, from the privacy policy 

review for fusion centers involved in NSI, to the 

Privacy and Information Quality subcommittee 

of GAC, to the identity and access management 

controls in the National Criminal Intelligence 

Resource Center (NCIRC) and Regional 

Information Sharing Systems (RISS) networks. 

Independent of these individual programs, 

DOJ engaged DHS to find common efforts in 

privacy and civil liberties protections so that 

resources could be merged and future initiatives 

coordinated. The first result of this partnership 

is available at OJP’s Privacy and Civil Liberties 

web site (www.it.ojp.gov/PrivacyLiberty), which 

is dedicated entirely to resources, guides, 

requirements, and best practices for building 

information-sharing systems and relationships 

with privacy and civil liberty protections in mind. 

The ongoing efforts of both agencies ensure that 

resources critical to protecting the privacy and 

civil liberties of citizens are available in a central 

location. Additionally, the National Information 

Sharing Standards (NISS) Help Desk is equipped 

to address questions in these areas using tools 

from Global, JRA, various training programs, and 

many other resources available in the field.

28 C.F.R. Part 23 Training

Criminal Intelligence Systems Operating Policies

(28 C.F.R. Part 23) is the guideline for law 

enforcement agencies that operate federally 

funded, multijurisdictional, criminal intelligence 

systems. In 1980, 28 C.F.R. Part 23 was issued 

to ensure that the privacy and constitutional 

rights of individuals are protected when criminal 

intelligence information is collected and 

exchanged, and it has since been an important 

part of the intelligence landscape.

During FY 2009, BJA has continued to provide 

28 C.F.R. Part 23 TTA services both onsite 

and through agency policy reviews. Through 

4 training events, 283 law enforcement 

practitioners were trained. In addition, three 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 63

onsite visits and two policy reviews were 

conducted at the request of various law 

enforcement agencies; these agencies received 

reports detailing the recommendations of the 

review staff. 

BJA also funded development and 

implementation of an online training program 

for 28 C.F.R. Part 23. The training introduces 

participants to the regulation’s core principles 

and helps them understand the privacy and 

civil liberties concerns that relate to criminal 

intelligence information sharing. Since its 

implementation on June 3, 2009, 669 users 

have registered for the training and 580 have 

completed it. This training is available on the 

NCIRC web site, www.NCIRC.gov, sponsored 

by BJA.

Nationwide Suspicious Activity 

Reporting Initiative

NSI began as an operational study project and 

is currently an Evaluation Environment site with 

12 state and major urban area fusion centers, 

DHS, and the FBI e-Guardian program. Other 

Evaluation Environment sites include the police 

departments of Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, 

and Chicago; Florida’s and Virginia’s state 

police agencies; and entities such as the New 

York State Intelligence Center and the Arizona 

Counter Terrorism Information Center. NSI is 

expected to incorporate agencies’ individual 

SAR processes (the gathering, documenting, 

processing, analyzing, and sharing of suspicious 

information) into a means for sharing terrorismrelated SAR data on a national level. The SAR 

process focuses on what law enforcement has 

been doing for years—gathering information 

regarding behaviors and incidents associated 

with crime and establishing a process for sharing 

information to detect and prevent criminal 

activity, including crime associated with domestic 

and international terrorism. 

In FY 2009, BJA achieved the following 

under NSI:

■ Released in October 2008 by BJA, in 

collaboration with DHS and the FBI, the 

“Safeguarding America—It All Starts With 

You” education program provides agencies 

with an easy and entertaining means of 

training personnel on SAR and intelligence-led 

policing. Agencies are using the program in 

their liaison officer and roll-call training and in 

community outreach.

■ Also in October 2008, after vetting and 

approval from numerous organizations 

such as Global, the Major Cities Chiefs 

Association, DHS, and DOJ, the Findings and 

Recommendations of the Suspicious Activity 

Report (SAR) Support and Implementation 

Project was released. The report advocates 

that state, local, and tribal agencies use 

their existing processes and systems as 

they incorporate the SAR process into their 

agencies, allowing them to leverage existing 

operational processes, technology, policies, 

and protocols as the new SAR process is 

implemented. A companion document to 

this report, the Suspicious Activity Reporting 

Process Implementation Checklist was released 

in November 2008 to provide a simplified 

checklist for chief executives and senior 

leadership who implement an internal SAR 

process within their agency. 

■ In January 2009, the Privacy and Civil Rights/

Civil Liberties Template was developed in 

collaboration with the project partners 

(including BJA) and ISE privacy/civil liberties 

officials. This template, based on Global’s

Fusion Center Privacy Policy Development: 

Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Policy 

Template, covers all Evaluation Environment 

activities conducted by participating pilot 

sites, including source, submitting, and user 

agencies. This template helps state and major 

urban areas ensure that their privacy policies 
64 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

qualify them to share information in the ISE 

and assists them in making any necessary 

modifications to their state constitutions, 

executive orders, court decisions, statutes, 

rules and regulations, and local codes/

ordinances. A “Privacy Policy Template Sample 

Participation Agreement–Source Agencies” 

assists ISE–SAR Evaluation Environment sites 

in developing agreement or memorandum 

documents for agencies that provide source 

documents to the ISE–SAR Evaluation 

Environment sites for possible inclusion in the 

Shared Spaces. 

■ To facilitate agency implementation of the 

SAR process and enhance the nationwide 

SAR capability, three separate but coordinated 

training efforts were developed in late 2008 

and early 2009 to meet the needs of three 

groups of law enforcement professionals with 

varying duties and responsibilities—agency 

executives, analytic/investigative personnel, 

and line officers. The executive-level training 

focuses on executive leadership, policy 

development and privacy and civil liberties 

protections, agency training, and community 

outreach. The analyst/investigative-level 

training focuses on the SAR process, 

emphasizing review and vetting of information 

to the functional standards; privacy and civil 

liberties protections; terrorism indicators, 

including recent trends in terrorism and 

stages of terrorism; and behaviors tied to 

the ISE–SAR Criteria Guidance. The line 

officer training focuses on understanding the 

critical role line officers have in the effective 

implementation of the SAR process. 

■ BJA also supported the development of a 

SAR vetting tool to improve the quality and 

accuracy of SARs and ensure that citizens’ 

privacy and civil liberties are protected. The 

tool was selected for honorable mention 

during the first annual Integrated Justice 

Information Systems (IJIS) Institute Innovation 

Awards, held in August 2009 during the 

National Forum for Criminal Justice and Public 

Safety. 

■ At the third annual National Fusion Center 

Conference in March 2009 in Kansas City, 

Missouri, sessions included briefs on NSI, 

implementing a successful SAR process in 

a fusion center, and identifying behavioral 

indicators as a precursor to terrorist activities, 

as well as several discussions on privacy and 

civil liberties issues.

■ BJA’s SAR team also coordinated with RISS 

and DOJ to establish access to the ISE–SAR 

Shared Spaces Federated Search Site for Law 

Enforcement Online (LEO) users utilizing 

Trusted Broker credentials. This coordination 

uses the Federated Identity Management pilot, 

now in its second year; is also interoperable 

with GFIPM efforts; and has as its goal to 

have the RISS network (RISSNet), LEO, and the 

Homeland Security Information Network use 

the Trusted Broker to authenticate users and 

thereby provide access to the secure SAR 

web page.

In July 2009, BJA and the SAR team began 

working on a comprehensive plan to examine 

the possibility of expanding NSI from the 12 pilot 

sites to the 72 state and major urban area fusion 

centers. In August 2009, efforts began with 

distribution of an online data call to the state 

fusion centers in order to identify the technical, 

functional, management, and fiscal resources 

needed to support the expansion of NSI. At the 

conclusion of the Evaluation Environment, a 

report will provide a comprehensive overview 

of NSI and the Evaluation Environment from 

its initial concept to its implementation at each 

site. The report will include the project overview, 

lessons learned, and best practices and will be 

used to further implement NSI at all 72 state and 

major urban area fusion centers.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 65

National Information

Exchange Model

A partnership between DOJ, DHS, and Global, 

the National Information Exchange Model 

(NIEM) initiative is designed to develop, 

disseminate, and support enterprisewide 

information exchange standards and processes 

that can enable jurisdictions and nontraditional 

justice partners to effectively share critical 

information in emergency situations and to 

support the day-to-day operations of agencies 

throughout the nation. NIEM provides a 

common vocabulary of agreed-upon terms, 

definitions, and formats that are independent of 

how information is stored in individual agency 

systems and, with the Information Exchange 

Package Documentation (IEPD) development 

process, a means to express NIEM information 

exchange requirements in an implementationready format. 

During FY 2009, the NIEM Program 

Management Office (PMO) released NIEM 

2.1, driven by the rapid adoption and use of 

NIEM. All previous exchanges, including the 

Global Justice XML Data Model, NIEM 1.0, 

and NIEM 2.0, remain available to support 

existing exchanges; implementers may migrate 

to the new version in their own time. NIEM 

2.1 incorporates many improvements over the 

previous model, including new domains such 

as Maritime; Family Services; and Chemical, 

Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear. Updates 

have also been made to existing domains; for 

example, the Emergency Management domain 

will further integrate with the Emergency Data 

Exchange Language messaging standards. 

This domain will also incorporate the results 

of a successful BJA-sponsored pilot at the 

Richmond, Virginia, emergency dispatch center 

that enabled the reuse of exchanges with 

private alarm companies. Furthermore, general 

improvements have been made to all domains, 

including harmonization to promote consistency 

among domains. Additionally, all data elements 

in the NIEM 2.1 release are now clearly defined, 

making it easier to find and reuse individual 

elements in the model. 

In FY 2009, the NIEM program held its firstever large-scale national training event in 

Baltimore, Maryland. Hundreds of participants 

representing 21 federal agencies, 32 states, and 

more than 100 private companies in industry 

came together to discuss their experiences and 

break down barriers to information sharing. 

In conjunction with this event, the NIEM PMO 

presented the first annual Best of NIEM awards 

to recognize implementation projects that 

increased government transparency, improved 

performance, and enabled civic engagement. 

The 2009 Best of NIEM honorees included the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 

Disaster Assistance Improvement Program, the 

Colorado Integrated Criminal Justice Information 

System, and Paragon Technology Group for 

Emergency Operation Center–Interconnectivity.

Case studies that highlight successful 

implementations of NIEM across government 

and private industry were another noteworthy 

focus of the NIEM PMO during FY 2009. These 

case studies have been posted to the NIEM web 

site (www.niem.gov) and distributed at key 

events to help paint a clear picture of what it 

takes to implement NIEM, as well as to illustrate 

the value of implementing NIEM. 

Training

To support adopting NIEM as a national 

information-sharing standard, BJA, along with 

DHS and other partners, funded NIEM training 

during FY 2009 for state, local, and tribal 

agencies. Through external support, federal 

agencies were also able to receive the training, 

providing a consistent educational foundation 

for the entire NIEM user community. A total 
66 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

of 11 NIEM trainings were conducted during 

the year, which included 8 training sessions for 

state and local agencies and 3 national training 

sessions. A total of 252 students received NIEM 

training during this period, with 142 state, local, 

and tribal students; 89 federal students; and 21 

students from nongovernmental agencies. 

For the first time, the classroom-based version 

of the NIEM “Practical Implementer’s Course” 

qualified for continuing education units for 

certifications issued through the International 

Information Systems Security Certification 

Consortium and the Institute for Certification 

of Computing Professionals. Development and 

delivery of the newly available online course 

were also completed. Rolled out in November 

2008, this course has been attended by 684 

students from federal, state, local, tribal, and 

nongovernmental agencies, as well as students 

internationally. It enables students from agencies 

anywhere in the world to learn about NIEM with 

virtually no incremental cost per student.

NISS Help Desk

Supported by BJA grant funding, the NISS Help 

Desk provides support to all organizations, 

both private and public sector, endeavoring to 

implement standards-based information-sharing 

solutions for local, state, tribal, and federal 

agencies. During FY 2009, the help desk assisted 

235 individuals in the resolution of 411 issues. 

The Help Desk also monitors and supports both 

the IEPD Clearinghouse (www.it.ojp.gov/IEPD), 

which received 35,889 hits during the past fiscal 

year, and the NISS Knowledgebase (www.it.ojp.

gov/NISS), which received 11,503 hits last year. 

Justice Reference Architecture

In 2004, Global endorsed service-oriented 

architecture as a recommended strategy for 

integrating justice information systems. Since 

that time, GISWG has made significant progress 

in providing support to local, state, and regional 

justice organizations by developing the Justice 

Reference Architecture (JRA), a framework 

based on SOA but specifically tuned to the 

needs of the justice community. During FY 2009, 

JRA focused on assisting with the adoption of 

the JRA framework and related standards to 

enhance information sharing and interoperability 

of justice partners. GISWG is aware of several 

states (e.g., Hawaii, Illinois, and Maine) and 

regional justice organizations that have explicitly 

adopted JRA for information sharing. Many 

of these states are leveraging JRA to establish 

interstate information sharing between their 

Criminal Justice Information System portals, and 

several of these states have participated actively 

in the development of tools and resources for 

implementing JRA services.

Significant progress has been made on 

deliverables that support management and 

policy as well as the implementation of services. 

For example, service (and JRA) implementation 

relies on standards that govern the interactions 

that occur when information sharing takes 

place. In JRA, this function is performed by a 

suite of Service Interaction Profiles (SIPs). JRA 

SIPs delivered this year were Web Services, 

version 1.2; Reliable Secure Web Services, 

version 1.0; and ebXML Messaging, version 1.0.

The basic roadmap to guide JRA adoption and 

measure compliance is the JRA Specification, 

which was delivered as Working Draft version 

1.7 in FY 2009. This resource links all of the 

products in the JRA catalog and provides 

demonstrable value by simplifying the process 

of adopting SOA. Other critical elements of the 

catalog delivered this year include Information 

Sharing Enterprise Statement of Participation, 

version 1.0; Guidelines for Identifying and 

Designing Services, version 1.0; and Execution 

Context Guidelines, version 1.0. Several other 

critical elements are available in working draft 

versions and will soon be completed, including 

the JRA Service Specification Guidelines, version 

0.9 and the JRA Service Specification Package, 

version 0.9. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 67

The products listed to this point serve as 

best practice guidelines for defining and 

implementing JRA architecture. However, there 

is also an operational working group related 

to GISWG but distinct from Global called the 

Services Task Team, which is responsible for 

identifying and delivering high-value services 

that the justice community can immediately and 

cheaply adopt and reuse. Sponsored by BJA, the 

Services Task Team is working to finalize a set 

of reference services that will soon be available, 

which includes specifications for fusion center 

reference services such as Terrorist Screening 

Center Encounter Verification, Inmate Release 

Information, and Submit Suspicious Activity. It 

also includes specifications for justice reference 

services such as Fingerprint Identification and 

Verification and Arrest Warrant. 

The latest information on the current Global JRA 

release, implementation guidelines, and services 

specifications is available at www.it.ojp.gov/

GlobalJRA.

National Motor Vehicle

Title Information System

The National Motor Vehicle Title Information 

System (NMVTIS) is an electronic system 

designed to help states and law enforcement 

deter and prevent title fraud and other vehiclerelated crimes, protect consumers from fraud 

and unsafe vehicles, and prevent the resale 

of stolen vehicles. NMVTIS was created under 

the Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992, which was 

reauthorized and amended in 1996, at which 

point responsibility for NMVTIS was transferred 

to DOJ. NMVTIS is made available through 

BJA, which is responsible for oversight of its 

implementation and operation and works 

in partnership with the system operator, 

the American Association of Motor Vehicle 

Administrators (AAMVA). In September 2009, 

BJA awarded grants of up to $100,000 to 12 

states to help them implement NMVTIS and 

comply with federal regulations, and awarded 

$5.7 million to AAMVA to support the 

full implementation and enhancement of

the system.

Effective January 1, 2010, states are required 

by federal law to report specific titling data 

to NMVTIS, perform a title verification check 

before issuing a certificate of title for an outof-state vehicle, and remit user fees (for FY 

2010, DOJ has provided funding to AAMVA 

to operate NMVTIS; because of this, user fees 

are obviated in 2010). At the end of 2009, 44 

states were involved with NMVTIS at various 

levels of participation; a map reflecting overall 

compliance is available at www.vehiclehistory.

gov. Nearly 80 percent of registered vehicles 

in the United States are represented in the 

system. A fully participating state provides data 

to the system and makes title inquiries before 

issuing new titles. By law, all states must be fully 

participating by January 1, 2010; DOJ continues 

to work collaboratively with states to bring them 

into full compliance. 

In March 2009, insurance carriers, junk/salvage 

yards, and auto recyclers began reporting 

monthly to NMVTIS an inventory of all junk 

and salvage automobiles (including those 

determined to be a total loss) in their possession. 

Since then, approximately 10 million salvage 

or total loss records have been received from 

more than 7,000 insurance carriers, junk yards, 

salvage yards, and auto recyclers. DOJ is working 

with AAMVA to provide a variety of reporting 

mechanisms to allow for flexible and costefficient reporting.

NMVTIS is the only publicly available system 

to which all insurance carriers and all auto 

recyclers such as junk and salvage yards are 

required under federal law to report regularly. 

Consumers can obtain a NMVTIS Vehicle History 

Report to access critical nationwide total loss, 

odometer reading, brand history, title, and 

salvage information about a vehicle so they can 

make an informed car-buying decision. Because 

federal law requires that NMVTIS be funded, 
68 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

the cost for a NMVTIS Vehicle History Report 

is determined by individual service providers. 

Currently, a report costs $2–4 if a vehicle 

identification number (VIN) is in the system. 

Law enforcement officers can also access 

NMVTIS information. In March 2009, the 

NMVTIS Law Enforcement Access Tool was 

made available to a test group of approximately 

75 users through the RISS secure network. As 

of April 2009, information available in the tool 

includes NMVTIS Central File Data, the National 

Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) Flood Damage 

Database, the NICB Counterfeit and Known 

Clone Database, the Mexican Stolen Vehicle 

Database, and a VIN Analyzer. DOJ plans to 

include access to the National Crime 

Information Center auto theft file and 

to continue to make the NMVTIS Law 

Enforcement Access Tool available to 

the greater law enforcement community.

Regional Information 

Sharing Systems 

RISS links local, state, federal, and tribal 

law enforcement agencies throughout the 

country, providing secure but unclassified (SBU) 

electronic communications and informationsharing resources to combat crime and terrorist 

threats that span multijurisdictional, multistate, 

and sometimes international boundaries. The 

secure network used by RISS, called RISSNet, 

provides a robust communication backbone 

and infrastructure connecting 95 local, state, 

federal, and regional systems and serving more 

than 8,300 law enforcement and criminal 

justice agencies from all levels of government. 

More than 91,000 access officers representing 

hundreds of thousands of law enforcement 

officers from member agencies can access the 

databases of six regional RISS centers and other 

intelligence systems from a single query. In FY 

2009, RISSNet enabled member agencies to 

make more than 2.7 million inquiries to the RISS 

criminal intelligence databases (with more than 

3.4 million records), resulting in 238,480 hits. 

RISS also provides vital services other than the 

sharing of data, including analytical, training, 

and investigative equipment loans. During 

FY 2009, RISS delivered more than 37,000 

analytical products and responded to more than 

94,000 requests for records research assistance. 

More than 67,000 attendees participated in 

RISS-sponsored information-sharing conferences 

and specialized training sessions, field staff 

conducted more than 28,800 onsite visits, and 

the RISS centers loaned out 5,458 pieces of 

investigative equipment.

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

RISS Gang Tattoo Database 

Leads to Suspect’s Arrest

During the RISSGang presentation at the ROCIC 

Spring Gang Conference in Fort Smith, Arkansas, a 

detective with the police department in Russellville, 

Arkansas, and other officers realized the value of 

creating a shared database of tattoos discovered on 

suspected gang members with whom they came 

in contact. To that end, they enlisted the assistance 

and cooperation of the Juvenile Probation Office. 

The detective had been investigating an aggravated 

robbery in which the suspect wore a prominent gang 

tattoo on the front side of his neck, and mentioned 

to one of the probation officers that these cases 

are the type that might be cleared through a 

gang tattoo database. After hearing the tattoo’s 

description, the probation officer said that he had a 

juvenile on probation with that exact type of tattoo. 

Further investigation by the detective resulted in the 

positive identification of this juvenile as the suspect in 

the armed robbery, and his arrest soon followed.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 69

RISS has also used information sharing to 

improve officer safety. For example, RISSafe, 

a national deconfliction system, allows for 

the controlled and secured monitoring of law 

enforcement operations (e.g., raids, controlled 

buys, and surveillances) and alerts affected 

agencies and officers of potential conflicts. 

Deployed in four of the six RISS regions, RISSafe 

works with mapping software to verify and 

plot data provided by officers to 1 of the 10 

currently operational RISSafe Watch Centers. 

Officers require no criminal predicate to post 

an operation and may enter any additional 

information along with their event data to 

be relayed to intelligence staff at a RISSafe 

Watch Center. 

National Criminal Intelligence 

Resource Center

The National Criminal Intelligence Resource 

Center (NCIRC) project is funded by BJA to 

be a secure web portal providing a “one-stop 

shop” for local, state, tribal, and federal law 

enforcement to access informational and sample 

materials regarding best practices, guidelines, 

training, technology, and legislative updates 

related to criminal intelligence. In addition, an 

interactive map provides users with contact 

information for fusion centers and intelligence 

units nationwide. The site is not intended to be 

a platform for sharing intelligence information 

itself, but rather a location for finding 

information about law enforcement intelligence 

operations and practices.

During FY 2009, NCIRC accomplished something 

unequaled in information-sharing practices—it 

became the first resource accessible via three 

different SBU portals: the FBI’s LEO, DHS’s 

Homeland Security Information Network Intel, 

and RISS. Users from each of these SBU portals 

can use their access secure portal account and 

traverse to the NCIRC secure portal for the 

resources available there without needing to log 

in again. During FY 2009, NCIRC also became 

the direct access point for two national projects: 

the NSI search tool and the 28 C.F.R. Part 23 

online training course.

Public Safety Data 

Interoperability

The Public Safety Data Interoperability (PSDI) 

project is a partnership among BJA, the IJIS 

Institute, and the Association of Public-Safety 

Communications Officials–International to 

improve the real-time data information-sharing 

capabilities between law enforcement and 

the emergency first responder community 

by using common standards and guidelines, 

including NIEM. The project brings together 

diverse interests; PSDI steering committee 

members represent emergency communications 

centers, law enforcement agencies, fire service 

agencies, emergency medical service (EMS) 

providers, emergency management agencies, 

transportation agencies, and the public safety 

technology industry. 

During FY 2009, the PSDI project produced 

several important deliverables:

■ The Guide to Information Sharing and Data 

Interoperability for Local Communication 

Centers (available at www.ijis.org/_programs/

public_safety.html) discusses topics such as 

achieving data interoperability, important 

technical concepts, project scope, governance, 

funding, and the selection of team members 

and technology providers.

■ Priority Data Exchanges for Local 

Communication Centers (available at www.

ijis.org/_programs/public_safety.html) provides 

an overview of 59 discrete, high-value 

information exchanges that are relevant to 

public safety communications centers. Each 

overview includes a high-level case scenario, 
70 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

sample business rules, and other basic metrics 

of an exchange. Communications center 

directors and other planners may use this 

document to assess the current strengths, 

weaknesses, and growth potential of their 

facilities. In addition, because many of the 

exchanges are not yet in use, or in wide use, 

directors and planners can use this document 

to understand emerging trends in data 

interoperability and to plan for future growth.

■ The External Alarm Interface Exchange 

(EAIE) format was upgraded from the Global 

Justice XML Data Model to NIEM, and in the 

process became one of the first public safety 

data exchanges to be an official American 

National Standards Institute certified standard. 

EAIE applies to information transmission 

between an alarm monitoring company 

and a Public Safety Answering Point. The 

first two jurisdictions to implement this data 

exchange—the City of Richmond and York 

County, Virginia—have both realized fewer 

phone calls to the communications centers, 

increased accuracy, and (most importantly) 

a 2–3 minute reduction in response time to 

alarm calls. For its implementation of EAIE, 

the City of Richmond won awards such as the 

American City & County Crown Community 

Award, the Digital Government Achievement 

Award, and the IJIS Institute Innovation 

Award.

Currently, the PSDI project is considering the 

Law Enforcement Information Technology 

Standards Council as a potential collaborator 

in developing computer-aided dispatch (CAD) 

functional standards. CAD systems are being 

used increasingly by law enforcement and 

public safety agencies; the PSDI project plans 

to analyze how to include the CAD needs of 

fire departments and EMS providers in the next 

version of the CAD functional specification.

Economic, Electronic, and

High-Tech Crime

In 2008, BJA provided funding for the National 

White Collar Crime Center (www.nw3c.org) to 

provide TTA in all areas of electronic, economic, 

and cybercrime investigation and prosecution to 

state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, 

prosecutors, and state regulatory authorities. 

NW3C staff also offer either analytical services 

or investigatory database access to valuable 

information hosted by third parties. Many of 

these services would not have been available 

without BJA funding.

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

NW3C Training Sharpens 

Officer’s Cybercrime 

Investigation Skills

A deputy with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office 

in Charleston, West Virginia, who had been trained 

by NW3C instructors, was asked to help investigate 

an individual suspected of downloading child 

pornography. Two other detectives had scanned the 

suspect’s computer using standard imaging programs 

and declared that the suspect had not downloaded 

any child pornography. The Kanawha County deputy 

used NW3C’s TUX4N6TM program—a user-friendly, 

Linux-based, forensically sound, digital evidence 

collection and onsite preview tool designed for 

first responders and investigators—and located a 

cache file in the user’s application data directory 

that proved, in fact, that child pornography did 

exist on that computer. Without NW3C’s software 

and training, no probable cause would have been 

established and the computer would have been 

returned to the suspect.
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 71

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

IC3-Initiated Investigation 

Leads to Multiple Charges

Three North Carolina residents were charged by 

the Alamance County Sheriff’s Department and 

the Mebane Police Department with conducting a 

fraudulent check scam using the Craigslist.org web 

site. An IC3 analyst initiated the investigation by 

advising agencies of the complaints entered into IC3. 

Alleged victims from the United States and Canada 

who had been selling items on the web site were 

defrauded through an elaborate counterfeit check 

scam that involved several major corporations with 

international ties. The charges included 50 counts 

of forgery of an endorsement, 50 counts of forgery 

of an instrument, 5 counts of feloniously accessing

of a computer, 10 counts of common law forgery, 

and 19 counts of third-degree sexual exploitation

of a minor.

During FY 2009, NW3C trained more than 8,500 

students in one or more cybercrime and financial 

crime courses and held several educational 

events and seminars for more than 500 

attendees representing criminal justice agencies 

throughout the world. More than 6,900 training 

products were distributed through NW3C’s web 

sites and individual requests, with investigative 

support staff conducting 20,462 public database 

searches in response to these individual requests 

and producing 1,021 analytical products for 

member agencies.

NW3C also hosts the Internet Crime Complaint 

Center (IC3), a cooperative effort among the FBI, 

NW3C, and BJA. IC3’s public web site, www.ic3.

gov, allows visitors to submit complaints about 

Internet-based crimes in which they have been 

victimized; in FY 2009, the web site received 

327,251 complaints. IC3 analysts review 

complaints and link cases involving the same 

suspect. The web site also provides information 

to state and local law enforcement agencies 

for followup.

FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 73

C H A P T E R 1 1

HONORING AMERICA’S

PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS

T

hroughout the country, public safety officers 

watch over neighborhoods and work to 

make communities safer. BJA respects these 

officers’ devotion and their willingness to place 

themselves in danger to protect the nation’s 

citizens. BJA owes officers, and their families, 

a tremendous debt of gratitude and is highly 

honored to administer the following programs 

recognizing America’s public safety heroes and 

their selfless and unwavering dedication to their 

communities nationwide.

Public Safety Officers’ 

Benefits Program

Enacted in 1976, the Public Safety Officers’ 

Benefits (PSOB) Program provides death and 

education benefits to survivors of fallen law 

enforcement officers, firefighters, and other 

first responders, as well as disability benefits to 

officers catastrophically injured in the line of 

duty. A unique partnership effort of DOJ; local, 

state, and federal public safety agencies; and 

national organizations, the PSOB Program:

■ Assists in the recruitment and retention of 

qualified public safety officers. 

■ Establishes the value communities place on 

contributions from those who are willing 

to serve their communities in dangerous 

circumstances. 

■ Offers peace of mind to men and women who 

are seeking careers in public safety. 

The PSOB Office is responsible for reviewing 

nearly 700 death, disability, and education 

claims submitted each year. It also collaborates 

with national firefighter, law enforcement, and 

first responder groups to provide a wide range 

of PSOB TTA resources through conferences, 

seminars, and printed materials such as the 

PSOB Information Kit, offering vital information 

and support to survivors and agencies of 

America’s fallen public safety officers. In FY 

2009, the PSOB Office received a total of 334 

new death claims for public safety officer deaths 

and 63 new disability claims for disabled public 

safety officers. By September 30, 2009, 119 

(more than 35 percent) of the death claims 

filed in FY 2009 had been investigated and 

closed—105 of which were approved. Also in 

FY 2009, 36 disability claims were approved, 

I can never in a million words convey our thanks to all 

of you and the love, concern and hard work that was 

put into the effort to make this possible for our family 

to receive the PSOB benefit . . . . We are thankful

for the programs out there to help pick up the pieces of 

our broken hearts and hold them in your hands as you 

glue them back together and help us to move on.
74 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

with benefits paid to officers found to be 

catastrophically injured in the line of duty. 

Public Safety Officer

Medal of Valor

The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor is the 

highest national award for valor by a public 

safety officer, presented by the President for 

extraordinary sacrifice and service above and 

beyond the call of duty. Each year, the Medal 

of Valor Review Board may recommend up 

to five individuals or groups for awards, but 

in extraordinary circumstances, the Attorney 

General may increase the number of recipients 

in a given year.

In FY 2009, the Medal of Valor program charter 

was renewed, with changes that reference 

recordkeeping procedures and the Designated 

Federal Official’s role (overseeing day-to-day 

operations), and that also incorporate new 

bylaws. The Medal of Valor Review Board is 

scheduled to meet in October 2009 to review 

applications and make its recommendations 

for 2008–2009 recipients, and the awards 

ceremony is anticipated for FY 2010. For more 

information about the Public Safety Officer 

Medal of Valor program, go to www.ojp.usdoj.

gov/medalofvalor/welcome.html.

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

PSOB: On the Front Lines

The PSOB Office reviews hundreds of claims 

each year for fallen officers, and wants all law 

enforcement officers, firefighters, and first responders 

to know that PSOB Cares, and implores all public 

safety officers to: 

Continue to remain ever alert in their vital work of 

protecting and serving communities nationwide. 

Always practice the safety skills they learned to 

increase the likelihood of keeping themselves 

and colleagues out of harm’s way.

Remember to take those extra moments to check 

their body armor and other equipment.

Exercise regularly to reduce stress and stay healthy 

for their loved ones for years to come.

Should tragedy strike, be there for a fallen officer’s 

loved ones by contacting the PSOB Office at 888–

744–6513 or www.psob.gov. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 75

C H A P T E R 1 2

BUILDING CAPACITY 

■ Providing training to a Police Peer Support 

Team to assist officers who handle the 

aftermath of critical incidents; providing the 

course “First Responders to Critical Incidents.”

■ Providing a scholarship to help an individual 

attend a Tribal Probation Academy.

■ Providing experts to present strategies on 

alcohol and substance abuse prevention and 

treatment at a statewide strategic planning 

session, with the goals of developing and 

implementing residential substance abuse 

programs in state and local correctional 

and detention facilities.

■ Funding travel and lodging costs for 

individuals from two separate jurisdictions 

to observe a program in another jurisdiction 

that they were interested in replicating in 

their own jurisdictions. 

This last example, known as a peer-to-peer 

site visit, is a cost-effective way to share 

information about model or demonstration 

programs with other regions or jurisdictions that 

then implement these programs at their own 

cost, thereby building the capacity of courts, 

corrections, and law enforcement throughout 

the nation. During this initial year of operation, 

assessment of services has been limited to 

evaluations completed by participants. These 

BJA provides support for TTA, knowledge 

management, performance measurement, 

innovative law enforcement initiatives, 

and enhancing justice information-sharing 

partnerships.

Training and Technical 

Assistance Coordination

One vital way that BJA fulfills its mission to 

improve the nation’s criminal justice system is 

through TTA programs. This unique strategy 

directly enhances the capacity of individual 

local, state, and tribal criminal justice agencies 

to address the challenges they face by providing 

information on best practices, access to experts 

on a particular subject, training in the latest 

technology and on emerging topics, and support 

for strategic planning, program sustainability, 

and program evaluation. 

At the core of BJA’s TTA program is the 

coordination of services provided by the 

National Training and Technical Assistance 

Center (NTTAC), not only for BJA grantees but 

also for local, state, or tribal organizations or 

agencies seeking information or assistance. In 

FY 2009, BJA awarded Fox Valley Technical 

College $750,000 to begin developing this 

center. Examples of services provided in 

FY 2009 include: 
76 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

assessments show that participants have found 

the services provided to be useful in their 

professional development or to have increased 

their knowledge and ability to develop new 

approaches to a problem.

In FY 2010, NTTAC will develop a web site to 

further its outreach to the country’s criminal 

justice community and will increase its 

coordination with BJA’s TTA providers. 

Knowledge Management

The goal of BJA’s knowledge management 

program is to collect and analyze research and 

evaluation information, identify BJA program 

successes, provide evidence to inform BJA 

programs and policies, and prepare information 

and findings to share within BJA and OJP and 

with the criminal justice community at large. 

To accomplish this goal, BJA’s knowledge 

management team is responsible for developing 

policies and processes for the efficient capture 

of relevant information, evidence, and research 

content across the entire spectrum of criminal 

justice issues. BJA’s knowledge management 

program strives to implement the best practices 

of program review, assessment, and evaluation. 

Long-range planning and analysis of new 

agency programs for which precedents are 

scarce or nonexistent are important components 

of this function. Moreover, BJA’s knowledge 

management team works with BJS, NIJ, and 

OJJDP, as well as other federal partners, to 

obtain the latest data and research results on a 

wide range of criminal justice and public safety 

policy areas. To assist in this effort to use data 

and evidence to support program development, 

BJA awarded a grant for $241,196 to the Justice 

Research and Statistics Association in 2009. 

An example of BJA’s knowledge management 

team’s FY 2009 efforts was the establishment 

of an ongoing working group to coordinate 

OJP’s efforts to provide funding for correctional 

programming. This enhanced coordination 

will continue into FY 2010; in addition, a 

focus group on “Research to Practice” will 

be convened comprising researchers and 

practitioners who will discuss the successes and 

barriers of implementing research- or evidencebased models in the field. BJA’s knowledge 

management team also will continue to create 

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

NTTAC Helps Oregon Adopt 

Hawaii’s HOPE Program

BJA’s National Training and Technical Assistance 

Center (NTTAC) provides services to practitioners 

whose needs cannot always be met by existing 

training and technical assistance providers. In this 

way, BJA can fill the gaps between programs and 

find individualized solutions to unique challenges. 

During FY 2009, NTTAC facilitated a peer-to-peer 

session for a judge, a deputy district attorney, 

and the assistant director of a county probation 

department from Oregon who were taking a 

close look at Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with 

Enforcement (HOPE) program, with the intent of 

setting up a similar program in their own jurisdiction. 

The HOPE court program identifies high-risk 

probationers and deters them from using drugs and 

committing crimes with frequent and random drug 

tests backed up by swift, certain, and short jail stays. 

Research has shown that HOPE probationers are 

significantly less likely to commit a crime, use drugs, 

and have their probation revoked. 

The Oregon judge summed up the practical result of 

the trip in these words: “I can say with certainty that 

without the assistance provided during our Hawaii 

trip, we could not now be very close to successfully 

implementing this type of court in our jurisdiction.”
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 77

logic models to inform programming, planning, 

and policy development; work toward increasing 

BJA grantees’ capacity to collect performance 

measures data, analyze these data, and “tell 

their story” using their performance measure 

information; and continue to meet with federal, 

state, and local research and program partners 

to discuss research, evaluation, performance 

measures, and evidence-based practices.

Performance Measurement

Capturing performance data is critical to 

program planning and success. BJA uses 

performance measurement data not only for 

internal program management, but also to 

communicate the value of programs externally 

to constituents—e.g., the criminal justice 

field, the Attorney General, and the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). Because timely 

data enable BJA to make course corrections 

midway through a program, in FY 2009 BJA 

migrated most programs from a semiannual 

reporting cycle to a quarterly one.

To increase capacity to collect performance 

measure data, BJA expanded the use of its 

Performance Measurement Tool (PMT), an 

automated online system piloted in 2008; 11 

grant programs reported in the PMT in FY 2009. 

BJA trained thousands of grantees on the use 

of PMT at in-person grantee conferences and 

through conference calls and webinars. A userfriendly system, PMT allows grantees to view 

only the measures relevant to their activities and 

to create summaries of their results and compare 

them to national aggregates. 

In addition to expanding its own performance 

measurement capacity, BJA supported grantees 

under the Recovery Act, who were required 

to report Section 1512 data in OMB’s online 

reporting system (www.federalreporting.gov). 

BJA’s staff kept abreast of the guidance for 

those reporting requirements and disseminated 

information to the grantee population. 

BJA also convened a focus group to revise JAG 

Program performance measures. BJA published 

the draft revisions for review and comments 

from existing and prospective grantees and 

the Office of the Inspector General. It then 

pilot tested the revisions at in-person sessions 

moderated by the Delaware and Maryland 

State Administering Agencies. PMT will receive 

quarterly data based on these revised measures, 

allowing BJA to determine in greater detail how 

grantees are using JAG funds. 

Lastly, in FY 2009, TTA grantees began reporting 

in the PMT sister system, called the Training and 

Technical Assistance Reporting System (TTARS). 

This system not only collects numerical totals of 

events and products, but also captures activities 

on a calendar to publicize them to the larger 

criminal justice community. TTARS will continue 

to develop with PMT so that both systems 

become more integrated in 2010. 

Law Enforcement Programs

Smaller Police Departments 

Technical Assistance Program

The IACP Smaller Police Departments 

Technical Assistance Program works with 

state associations of chiefs of police, training 

academies, and other law enforcement agencies 

to provide administrative and leadership training 

for law enforcement executives and command 

staff serving populations of 50,000 or fewer 

(constituting more than 85 percent of all U.S. 

police departments, or 15,518 agencies). The 

program’s primary goal is to provide assistance, 

support, practical training tools, and connections 

to other executives from the state, region, and 

nation to improve the professional development 

of police executives from smaller departments 

and ensure that their services match community 

needs. 
78 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

FY 2009 efforts brought the following results:

■ More than 7,000 police agencies received 

an electronic copy of the program’s quarterly 

newsletter, Big Ideas for Smaller Police 

Departments. 

■ Direct training was provided to 3,042 

executives and command staff through 

the program. 

■ The program’s web site received more than 

40,000 hits. 

■ The New Police Chief Mentoring Project 

improved its outreach to new chiefs by more 

than 30 percent, serving more than 100 new 

chiefs. 

■ Program staff coordinated and program 

participants were involved in the IACP 

National Policy Summit on Police Response to 

Persons with Mental Illness. 

■ A best practices guide—Predicting and 

Surviving a No-Confidence Vote—was 

published and disseminated electronically to 

thousands of practitioners. 

In FY 2010, this program will provide local law 

enforcement with online reference materials that 

provide leadership guidance—particularly for 

newer executives—and other forms of training, 

technical assistance, and support. For more 

information, go to www.iacpsmallerdepts.org. 

Regional Community Policing 

Institute Training Program

The Missouri Regional Community Policing 

Institute (RCPI), hosted by Missouri Western 

University, received an award in FY 2007 to 

provide BJA-developed training through a onestop national delivery mechanism. The Missouri 

RCPI has partnered with 19 other RCPIs to 

deliver five courses nationwide: “Gangs 101,” 

“Counter Terrorism Awareness,” “Campus 

Crime Prevention Officer Training,” Franklin 

Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People® for 

Law EnforcementTM,” and “Human Judgment 

Interference Factors in Law Enforcement.”

Additionally, the Missouri RCPI developed other 

partnerships to assist in the national delivery 

of BJA training, including the BJA-funded RISS 

centers and regional offices of the High Intensity 

Drug Trafficking Areas program. 

Training data reported to BJA’s TTARS indicate 

that 158 officers representing 100 agencies 

attended the campus crime prevention training; 

774 trainees from 289 agencies attended the 

counter-terrorism awareness training; 346 

attendees from 143 agencies attended the 

gang training; and 24 participants attended the 

pilot of the “Introduction to Human Judgment 

Interference Factors in Law Enforcement” 

training. This last curriculum, under further 

enhancement, has great potential to strengthen 

law enforcement’s ability to reduce human error 

in policing, thereby increasing officer and citizen 

safety as well as public trust in the police.

For more information on this project, go to 

www.missouriwestern.edu/rcpi.

Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective 

People® for Law EnforcementTM

In FY 2009, through a BJA grant awarded in FY 

2007, the Carolinas Institute for Community 

Policing (CICP) hosted and provided materials 

for a 21⁄2-day Franklin Covey “7 Habits of Highly 

Effective People® for Law EnforcementTM” 

train-the-trainer program in Greenville, South 

Carolina. As a result, 19 participants earned 

certification as Franklin Covey consultants and 

now deliver training throughout the nation. This 

training creates an interactive experience for law 

enforcement professionals seeking to improve 

their personal lives and job performance. Line 

personnel, supervisors, and executives can 

immediately apply the knowledge and skills they 

learned in this workshop. CICP also coordinated 

and completed 49 3-day training workshops 

with 1,181 participants and 6 1-day training 

workshops with 284 participants. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 79

In FY 2010, CICP will continue to plan and 

coordinate train-the-trainer and national 

workshops to serve the needs of the law 

enforcement community. For more information, 

go to www.cicp.org. 

Discover Policing

In 2008, IACP and BJA partnered to launch 

the nationwide Discover Policing initiative and 

its cornerstone web site, DiscoverPolicing.

org, to attract a broad and diverse audience 

of people interested in entering into police 

service by clearly and accurately portraying law 

enforcement careers. Law enforcement agencies 

with position openings can post job listings 

and application information on the Discover 

Policing web site. Persons seeking positions in 

law enforcement can also post their résumés for 

prospective employers to review. The Discover 

Policing web site has robust search capabilities, 

which allow users to narrow their search by 

state or type of position. During FY 2009, 

more than 700 employers registered with the 

Discover Policing web site, with an average of 

70 new jobs posted each month. More than 

2,000 job seekers registered with the site to 

receive automated e-mails each time a new job 

is posted on the site, which averages 10,000 

unique visitors and 3,500 returning visitors each 

month. The country’s largest law enforcement 

agency, the New York City Police Department, 

is using Discover Policing to advertise openings 

within its agency, and the U.S. Army has civilian 

law enforcement positions listed on the site.

In February 2009, the Discover Policing web site 

was recognized by the Interactive Media Group 

as “most outstanding” in the “Recruitment” 

class. In FY 2010, IACP will continue to 

expand the Discover Policing initiative, thereby 

enhancing capacity and promoting successful 

recruitment in law enforcement collectively 

and in its component agencies individually. To 

achieve this goal, IACP will make the web site 

content increasingly interactive, introduce a 

multifaceted public awareness campaign, and 

expand its use by hiring agencies. 

Law Enforcement Leadership Initiative

In 2005, BJA initiated development of the Law 

Enforcement Leadership Initiative (LELI), with a 

pledge from key law enforcement membership 

organizations to assist in identifying the core 

competencies that the next generation of law 

enforcement leaders will need. The first step of 

LELI was to conduct an extensive review of core 

competencies from other disciplines through 

an extensive literature survey. In addition, LELI 

undertook a competencies needs assessment 

to affirm the focus of the core competencies 

for law enforcement officers and leaders. This 

approach culminated with the development of a 

model curriculum for educating those individuals 

who are emerging as law enforcement leaders. 

LELI represents the first examination of core 

law enforcement leadership needs since the 

1970s. The LELI report is in the final phase of 

review and, when published, will be available 

electronically on the BJA web site.

A second phase of BJA’s examination of 

law enforcement is being conducted by St. 

Petersburg College, Florida, and the Police 

Executive Research Forum, Washington, 

D.C. These new projects will work from the 

core competencies of the LELI effort and 

specifically address the development of 

new law enforcement leaders. 

Resource Center for Rural Agencies

During FY 2008, BJA partnered with the 

National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) to fund the 

Resource Center on Intergovernmental Contract 

Law Enforcement Services. When completed, 

this project will allow law enforcement 

executives and small town government officials 

to access a national electronic database 

containing toolkits and how-to manuals on 

intergovernmental contract services; academic 

and practitioner analyses on the advantages and 
80 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

challenges for sheriffs’ offices and municipalities 

in these contracts; and contact information for 

experts who can offer policy guidance, conduct 

needs assessments, and review contracts.

During FY 2009, NSA began implementing the 

project and hired a project director to research 

and obtain resource materials for the center 

and to review the résumés and qualifications of 

potential experts. An article about the project 

appeared in the May/June 2009 issue of Sheriff

magazine, and a notice and request for experts 

and resource materials regularly appeared in 

NSA’s monthly e-newsletter. In September 2009, 

NSA launched the center at www.sheriffs.org/

programs/ContractLawEnforcementServices.

asp. Although center development will continue 

in 2010, the site currently provides contact 

information for submitting resource materials 

and applying to be an expert. 

Judicial Training

With funding provided by BJA, the National 

Judicial College (NJC) provides judges and court 

personnel with the opportunity to enhance their 

judicial skills through courses and programs 

designed specifically to meet their needs. 

Scholarships are provided to some participants 

to allow judges to attend these courses who 

otherwise would not have this opportunity, 

given the constraints of local and state budgets. 

From January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009, 

NJC awarded 96 scholarships for judges and 

court personnel to attend NJC programs. The 

judges came from 29 different states and 

Puerto Rico. The courses that are eligible for this 

funding assistance are designed to help judges 

improve their proficiency and productivity. The 

following courses are among those offered: 

“Advanced Evidence,” “Advanced Judicial 

Writing,” “Ethics and Judging: Reaching Higher 

Ground: A Web-Based Course,” and “Selected 

Criminal Evidence Issues: A Web-Based Course.” 

For more information, go to www.judges.org.

Justice Information 

Sharing Programs

Fusion Center Technology 

Technical Assistance Program

The Fusion Center Technology Technical 

Assistance Program, a component of the 

DHS/DOJ Fusion Process Technical Assistance 

Program, promotes the establishment of a 

network of fusion centers to facilitate effective 

nationwide information sharing. The program 

also equips fusion center staff with knowledge 

of relevant technologies and provides 

information about the technology available, best 

practices for using it, and general support of 

fusion center operations. 

During FY 2009, with BJA as a primary partner, 

this program addressed on several levels the 

needs of fusion centers for technological 

support. In January 2009, the National 

Fusion Technology Workshop was held in 

Kansas City, Missouri. This 2-day workshop 

brought together fusion center technologists 

to showcase technology currently available, 

share best practices, and facilitate roundtable 

discussions. It also provided valuable guidance, 

tools, and resources for fusion centers on how 

to develop and refine technology with the goal 

of implementing the Baseline Capabilities for 

State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers. In 

September 2009, TA was delivered in Latham, 

New York. This TA focused on the New York 

State Intelligence Center’s Criminal Intelligence 

and Analysis System, which requested a review 

of the system for compliance with 28 C.F.R. 

Part 23. Privacy experts and the program 

partners who reviewed the system made several 

recommendations for improving the center’s 

information-sharing data capabilities.

In addition to onsite TA for fusion centers, 

program partners hosted various telephone 

conferences and webinars to engage fusion 

center technologists on various topics of interest. 
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 81

A working group of experts also was established 

to participate in projects related to technology 

within fusion centers, including identifying 

requirements, tools, and implementation efforts.

National Fusion Center Coordination Group

Composed of representatives of the Information 

Sharing Council, relevant federal agencies 

(including BJA), state and major urban area 

fusion centers, and the Criminal Intelligence 

Coordinating Council (CICC), the National 

Fusion Center Coordination Group (NFCCG) is 

charged with actively guiding and coordinating 

the development of fusion center capabilities to 

maximize interoperability on a national basis and 

within the Information Sharing Environment for 

the prevention of terrorist acts. NFCCG conducts 

a monthly (or as needed) conference call as well 

as quarterly (or as needed) offsite meetings. 

Participants discuss fusion center-related issues, 

including planning for the regional fusion 

center meetings and other issues regarding the 

national fusion center initiative. One NFCCG 

offsite meeting was held during 2009. A joint 

2-day meeting of the NFCCG, CICC, and the 

IACP Homeland Security Committee was held in 

April 2009 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to discuss 

common issues and develop a plan of action for 

future priorities in information sharing at fusion 

centers. Fifty representatives from local, state, 

federal, and private agencies attended 

the event.

Senior Level Inter-Agency Advisory Group

The Senior Level Inter-Agency Advisory Group 

(SLIAG) was established to ensure effective 

and immediate implementation of Presidential 

Guideline 2, which focuses on developing a 

common framework for sharing information 

among executive departments and agencies 

and state, local, and tribal governments; 

law enforcement agencies; and the private 

sector. SLIAG membership includes DHS, 

the Department of Defense, DOJ (including 

BJA), the FBI, the Department of the Interior, 

the Department of Energy, the Office of the 

Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the 

Central Intelligence Agency, and the National 

Counterterrorism Center. BJA has not only 

participated as a member of SLIAG, but has also 

provided presentations to the group, including 

an overview of fusion center privacy-related 

efforts and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity 

Reporting Initiative. 

National Fusion Center Annual Conference

The third annual Nationwide Fusion Center 

Conference (NFCC), sponsored by DHS, BJA, 

DOJ’s Global, FBI, ODNI, and the Office of the 

Program Manager for the Information Sharing 

Environment was held in March 2009 in Kansas 

City, Missouri. NFCC is a key mechanism for 

fusion centers to receive TTA and other support 

services to achieve a baseline level of capability 

as identified in the Baseline Capabilities for 

State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers. 

These services assist fusion centers in meeting 

the goals identified in the National Strategy for 

Information Sharing. This conference covered 

a variety of topics, including funding and 

sustainability, privacy, achieving the baseline 

capabilities, suspicious activity reporting projects, 

threats/alerts/warnings, security, and TTA. A 

meeting was held prior to NFCC to enable 

fusion center directors to network and to 

discuss the 2009 baseline capabilities priorities 

for fusion centers, the importance of a privacy 

policy, and the methods for developing baseline 

capabilities. Several high-level presentations 

covered topics such as the current state of 

terrorism, the development of fusion center 

communications plans, and sustainment efforts. 

During the latter part of 2009, logistical support 

began for the fourth annual NFCC to be held 

in New Orleans, Louisiana, in February 2010, 

where more than 900 participants are expected.

FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 83

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

AAMVA American Association of Motor 

Vehicle Administrators

AOC Administrative Office of the Court

APPA American Probation and Parole 

Association

ARLE Assistance to Rural Law Enforcement 

to Combat Crime and Drugs

AU American University

B3S Be Safe and Sound in School

BJA Bureau of Justice Assistance

BJS Bureau of Justice Statistics

BVP Bulletproof Vest Partnership 

Program

CAD computer-aided dispatch

CAT Communities Against Terror

CCLI Capital Case Litigation Initiative

CCTAP Criminal Courts Technical Assistance 

Project

CenTF Center for Task Force Training

CEPP Center for Effective Public Policy

C.F.R. Code of Federal Regulations

CFTL Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands

CICC Criminal Intelligence Coordinating 

Council

CICP Carolinas Institute for 

Community Policing

CMHS Center for Mental Health Services

COOP continuity of operations plan

COPS Office of Community Oriented 

Policing Services

CSAT Center for Substance Abuse and 

Treatment

CSC Celebrate Safe Communities

CSP Baltimore City Community 

Services Program

CURES Controlled Substances Utilization 

Review and Evaluation System

DEC drug-endangered children

DHS U.S. Department of Homeland 

Security

DMI Drug Market Intervention Initiative

DOJ U.S. Department of Justice

DOL U.S. Department of Labor

EAIE External Alarm Interface Exchange

EMS emergency medical service
84 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation

FY fiscal year

GAC Global Advisory Committee

GFIPM Global Federated Identity and 

Privilege Management

GISWG Global Infrastructure/Standards 

Working Group

GIWG Global Intelligence Working Group

Global Global Justice Information Sharing 

Initiative

GPIQWG Global Privacy and Information 

Quality Working Group

G.R.E.A.T. Gang Resistance Education And 

Training

GSWG Global Security Working Group

HIDTA High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

HRPDMP Harold Rogers Prescription Drug 

Monitoring Program

IACP International Association of Chiefs 

of Police

IASAP Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse 

Program

IC3 Internet Crime Complaint Center

IEPD Information Exchange Package 

Document

IIR Institute for Intergovernmental 

Research

IJIS Integrated Justice Information 

Systems

ILP intelligence-led policing

INSPECT Indiana Scheduled Prescription 

Electronic Collection and Tracking

IPSP Institute for Public Safety 

Partnerships

ISE Information Sharing Environment

JAG Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 

Assistance Grant

JMHCP Justice and Mental Health 

Collaboration Program

JMI Justice Management Institute

JRA Justice Reference Architecture

JSG Justice Solutions Group

LEIC Law Enforcement Innovation Center

LELI Law Enforcement Leadership 

Initiative

LEO Law Enforcement Online

MSU Michigan State University

NAB National Association of Broadcasters

NACDL National Association of Criminal 

Defense Lawyers

NADEC National Alliance for Drug 

Endangered Children

NBPI Northern Border Prosecution 

Initiative

NCIRC National Criminal Intelligence 

Resource Center

NCPC National Crime Prevention Council

NDAA National District Attorneys 

Association

NFA National Forensic Academy

NFCC National Fusion Center Annual 

Conference

NFCCG National Fusion Center Coordination 

Group

NFSI National Forensic Science Institute

NFSTC National Forensic Science 

Technology Center

NGA National Governors Association

NGC National Gang Center
FY 2009 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS | 85

NIC National Institute of Corrections

NICB National Insurance Crime Bureau

NIEM National Information Exchange 

Model

NIJ National Institute of Justice

NISS National Information Sharing 

Standards

NJC National Judicial College

NMVTIS National Motor Vehicle Title 

Information System

NPD National Preparedness Directorate

NSA National Sheriffs’ Association

NSI Nationwide SAR Initiative

NTTAC National Training and Technical 

Assistance Center

NW3C National White Collar Crime Center

ODNI Office of the Director of National 

Intelligence

OIG Office of the Inspector General

OJJDP Office of Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention

OJP Office of Justice Programs

OVC Office for Victims of Crime

PCU Personal Crimes Unit

PDMP prescription drug monitoring 

program

PERF Police Executive Research Forum

PM–ISE Program Manager for the 

Information Sharing Environment

PMIX PDMP Information Exchange

PMO Program Management Office

PMT Performance Measurement Tool

PRI Prisoner Reentry Initiative

PSA public service announcement

PSDI Public Safety Data Interoperability

PSN Project Safe Neighborhoods

PSOB Public Safety Officers’ Benefits 

Program

RA Recovery Act

RCPI Regional Community Policing 

Initiative

RISS Regional Information Sharing 

Systems

RSAT Residential Substance Abuse 

Treatment for State Prisoners

SAR Suspicious Activity Reporting

SAVIN Statewide Automated Victim 

Information and Notification

SBU secure but unclassified

SCAAP State Criminal Alien Assistance 

Program

SEARCH National Consortium for Justice 

Information and Statistics

SIPs Service Interaction Profiles

SLATT® State and Local Anti-Terrorism 

Training

SLIAG Senior Level Inter-Agency Advisory 

Group

SOA Service-Oriented Architecture

SPI Smart Policing Initiative

SWBPI Southwest Border Prosecution 

Initiative

TA technical assistance

TCAP Tribal Courts Assistance Program

TTA training and technical assistance

TTAC Training and Technical Assistance 

Center
86 | SOLUTIONS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES

TVCI Targeting Violent Crime Initiative

UI Urban Institute

UT University of Tennessee

VIN vehicle identification number

VIP Violence Intervention Project

VIPS Volunteers in Police Service

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Bureau of Justice Assistance Information

BJA’s mission is to provide leadership and services in grant administration and criminal justice policy to 

support local, state, and tribal justice strategies to achieve safer communities. For more information about 

BJA and its programs, contact:

Bureau of Justice Assistance

810 Seventh Street NW.

Washington, DC 20531

202–616–6500

866–859–2687

Fax: 202–305–1367

www.ojp.gov/BJA

E-mail: AskBJA@usdoj.gov

The BJA Clearinghouse, a component of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, shares BJA 

program information with local, state, tribal, and federal agencies and community groups across the country. 

Information specialists provide reference and referral services, publication distribution, participation and 

support for conferences, and other networking and outreach activities. The clearinghouse can be contacted at:

Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse

P.O. Box 6000

Rockville, MD 20849–6000

800–851–3420

Fax: 301–519–5212

www.ncjrs.gov

Questions/comments: www.ncjrs.gov/App/ContactUs.aspx

Clearinghouse staff are available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. eastern time. Ask to be placed on 

the BJA mailing list.
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Assistance

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

PRESORTED STANDARD

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

DOJ/BJA

PERMIT NO. G–91 *NCJ~230348*