KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -President Obama has designated the week of Oct. 2-8, 2016, as National Community Policing Week. As part of the Obama Administration's commitment to building stronger relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve, the Department of Justice will participate in events in support of community policing efforts around the country.
The week is also an extension of the Attorney General’s 12-city Community Policing Tour that highlighted collaborative programs and policing practices designed to advance public safety, strengthen police-community relations, and foster mutual trust and respect between law enforcement and citizens. National Community Policing Week builds on President Obama’s efforts to engage with law enforcement and other members of the community to implement key recommendations from the.
Community policing is a public safety philosophy based on partnership and cooperation between law enforcement and the communities that they are sworn to protect. At the center of community policing is the idea that all members of the community, both officer and civilian, have a stake in the safety of their neighborhoods where they live and work.
Along with President Obama and Attorney General Lynch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee is committed to doing its part to support law enforcement and the residents of its communities. U.S. Attorney Nancy Stallard Harr is encouraging local law enforcement to work with federal, state and other local police partners, community organizations, and stakeholders to hold appropriate events and engagement activities not only throughout National Community Policing Week, but on a regular basis. “These collective efforts and participation will ensure the continuation of the critical work being done across the country to make neighborhoods safer, stronger, and more united," stated U.S. Attorney Harr.
Recently the U.S. Attorney’s office was notified of a number of federal grants which were awarded to local law enforcement and other agencies across east Tennessee to aide them in their efforts to protect and keep our communities safe. Highlights of these grant awards include:
COPS HIRING PROGRAM (CHP)
* Hamilton County Sheriff - $175,000
CHP grants provide matching funding awards to 184 law enforcement agencies across the nation, aimed at creating, or in some cases protecting, more than 900 law enforcement positions. CHP provides funding directly to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies for the hiring and rehiring of entry-level career law enforcement officers in an effort to create and preserve jobs and increase community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts.
FY16 EDWARD BYRNE MEMORIAL ASSISTANCE GRANT (JAG) PROGRAM
* Blount County - $20,161
* City of Cleveland - $39,340
* Cocke County - $10,398
* City of Chattanooga - $138,816
* City of East Ridge - $11,084
* City of Johnson City - $31,122
* City of Kingsport - $22,193
* City of Knoxville (to share with Knox County) - $153,452
* City of Morristown - $13,098
* Sullivan County - $23,069
The JAG program allows states and units of government, including Indian tribes, to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on their own state and local needs and conditions. Grant funds can be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice, including for any one of more of the following program areas: 1) law enforcement programs; 2) prosecution and court programs; 3) prevention and education programs; 4) corrections and community corrections programs; 5) drug treatment and enforcement programs; 6) planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs; and 7) crime victim and witness programs.
FY 16 ADULT DRUG COURT DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAM
* Morgan County - $300,000
* Sevier County - $300,000
The purpose of the Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program is to provide financial and technical assistance to states, state courts, local courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments to develop and implement drug courts that effectively integrate evidence-based substance abuse treatment, mandatory drug testing, sanctions and incentives, and transitional services in a judicially supervised court setting with jurisdiction over substance abuse offenders.
FY16 BODY-WORN CAMERA (BWC) POLICY AND IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM: IMPLEMENTATION OR EXPANSION OF BWC PROGRAMS FOR LARGE AGENCIES
* City of Chattanooga - $299,992
* City of Morristown - $42,500
The BWC Policy and Implementation Program supports the implementation of body-worn camera programs in law enforcement agencies across the country. The intent of the program is to help agencies develop, implement, and evaluate a BWC program as one tool in a law enforcement agency’s comprehensive problem solving approach to enhance officer interactions with the public and build community trust. Elements of such an approach include: implementation of a BWC program developed in a planned and phased approach; collaboration that leverages partnerships with cross-agency criminal justice stakeholders including prosecutors and advocacy organizations; implementation of appropriate privacy policies; implementation of operational procedures and tracking mechanisms; training of officers, administrators, and associated agencies requiring access to digital multimedia evidence; and adoption of practices and deployment of BWC programs appropriately addressing operational requirements.
IMPROVING CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESPONSE PROGRAM
* Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, Incorporated, Chattanooga - $442,343
The Improving Criminal Justice Response Program implements certain provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) which enhances victim safety and offender accountability in cases of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking by encouraging jurisdictions to implement pro-arrest policies as an effective intervention that is part of a coordinated community response. An integral component of this program is the creation and enhancement of collaborative partnerships between criminal justice agencies, victim services providers, and community organizations which respond to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.
FY16 INTERNET CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN TASK FORCE (ICAC)
* City of Knoxville - $381,931
The National Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force consists of state and local law enforcement task forces dedicated to developing effective responses to online enticement of children by sexual predators, child exploitation, and child obscenity and pornography cases.
FY 16 MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH INITIATIVE
Knoxville Leadership Foundation - $1,250,000
The Knoxville Area Mentoring Initiative (KAMI) is a collaborative mentoring project built on the resources of the strongest mentoring organizations in east Tennessee. KAMI is led by Knoxville Leadership Foundation through their program Amanchi Knoxville, and with partners Emerald Youth Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee, Joy of Music School and Girls on the Run.
The Mentoring Opportunities for Youth Initiative provides funding to support organizations that form a collaborative of at least three and as many as five mentoring organizations in their efforts to strengthen and/or expand their existing mentoring programs to reduce juvenile delinquency, drug abuse, truancy, and other problem and high-risk behaviors. FY 2016 funding addresses the factors that can lead to or serve as a catalyst for delinquency or other problem behaviors for at-risk and high-risk youth.
TRANSITIONAL HOUSING GRANT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
* Helen Ross McNabb Center, Incorporated - $350,000
The primary purpose of the Transitional Housing Assistance Program is to provide aid to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking who are homeless, or in need of transitional housing or other housing assistance, including short-term housing assistance and supportive services; and for whom emergency shelter services or other crisis intervention services are unavailable or insufficient. The program also focuses on supporting a holistic, victim-centered approach to provide transitional housing services that move individuals into permanent housing. It is critical that successful transitional housing programs provide a wide range of flexible and optional services that reflect the differences and individual needs of victims and that allow victims to choose the course of action that is best for them.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
