County, City to split JAG funds

The Winston County Journal

The City of Louisville and the Winston County Sheriff's Department will split about $10,000 in grant funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for law enforcement.

Since its passage in February, the Recovery Act has allocated $18.4 million in funding for Mississippi through Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants (JAG).

"This significant funding will help fight crime and keep communities safe," said Congressman Travis Childers. "During today's tough economic times, this money will also help ensure that we have the resources and capabilities we need to protect communities in Mississippi."

The City of Louisville and Winston County will split $10,229 equally. According to Louisville Police Chief L.M. Claiborne the funds may be used to purchase equipment for the police and sheriff's department.

Nationwide, $2 billion will be available in Recovery Act 2009 funding allocations for state and local law enforcement and criminal justice assistance through the JAG Program. These funds can be used for a variety of efforts such as hiring law enforcement officers; supporting drug and gang task forces; funding crime prevention and domestic violence programs; and supporting courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives. Additional information about JAG funding can be viewed at http://www.ojp.gov/recovery/.

The procedure for allocating JAG grants is based on a formula of population and violent crime statistics, in combination with a minimum allocation to ensure that each state and territory receives an appropriate share of funding. Sixty percent of the allocation is awarded directly to a state and 40 percent is set aside for units of local government. Funding will be used by states and more than 5,000 local communities to enhance their ability to protect communities and combat crime.

The Recovery Act includes more than $4 billion overall to assist state, local and tribal law enforcement and for other criminal justice activities that help to prevent crime and improve the criminal justice system in the United States while supporting the creation of jobs.