4/26/2007
Media Contact:
U.S. Attorney’s Office – Mary Bippus 229-2403
Mayor’s Office - Justin Ohlemiller 317-327-3690 |
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Indianapolis secures $2.5 million grant from Department of Justice to bolster crime prevention efforts
Indianapolis – United States Attorney Susan Brooks and Mayor Bart Peterson today received word from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that Indianapolis will receive a $2.5 million grant aimed at helping local communities fund crime prevention efforts. The grant is part of an expansion of the Justice Department’s Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative targeting dangerous street gangs and promoting prevention efforts to keep communities and neighborhoods safe.
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is expected to travel to Indianapolis in the coming days to officially announce the grant funding.
Indianapolis was one of four cities to receive the grant, along with Rochester, N.Y., Oklahoma City, Okla., and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. The cities were selected based on a variety of factors, including the need for concentrated anti-gang resources, established infrastructure to support the envisioned prevention, enforcement and re-entry components, and existing partnerships prepared to focus intensely on the gang problem.
United States Attorney Brooks credited the work of Project Safe Neighborhoods and the national reputation Indianapolis enjoys for federal, state and local law enforcement cooperation as significant reasons Indianapolis was chosen.
“At all levels of government, we, in Indianapolis, are working with neighborhood groups to reduce violent crime and target gangs that cause the violence in our community,” Brooks said. “We also want to ensure young people understand the dangers of joining gangs. This grant can help us make a huge difference in funding programs in schools, community centers, and faith based organizations.”
“Indianapolis, thanks to the leadership of Susan Brooks and the work of the Community Crime Prevention taskforce, was uniquely positioned to secure this grant from the Justice Department,” Mayor Peterson said. “We’re excited about the opportunities this grant provides for expanding crime prevention efforts. We look forward to working with the U.S. Attorney to put these dollars to work, making our neighborhoods safer and steering our youth away from negative influences.”
Earlier this year, Mayor Peterson met with Attorney General Gonzales and presented him with a copy of the Community Crime Prevention Task Force report, Indianapolis’ community blueprint for supporting crime prevention measures that are known to work. The recommendations, compiled by a 48-member panel of community leaders from all walks of life, include key areas of focus for providing “sensible solutions” to preventing and keeping people out of the criminal justice system.
The U.S. Attorney in the selected cities will work with state, local and community partners to administer the $2.5 million grant and implement strategies that address the following areas:
- Prevention –Approximately $1 million will go to support comprehensive prevention efforts that focus on reducing youth-gang crime and violence by addressing the full range of personal, family and community factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and gang activity.
- Enforcement – Approximately $1 million will help support enforcement programs that will focus law enforcement efforts on the most significant violent gang offenders.
- Prisoner Re-entry – Approximately $500,000 will dedicated to creating re-entry assistance programs that will provide transitional housing, job readiness and placement assistance, and substance abuse and mental health treatment to prisoners re-entering society.
The Community Crime Prevention Task Force report will be one of the tools used to determine how the $2.5 million is utilized.
More details on the grant and the visit by the U.S. Attorney General will follow in the coming days.
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