Justice Department Delivers More Than $5 Billion to Assist States Last Year

4/22/2003

From: Linda Mansour of the Office of Justice Programs, 202-616-3534 or http:// www.ojp.usdoj.gov Maria Carolina Rozas of the COPS Office, 202-616-1728 or http://www.cops.usdoj.gov Main Office, 202-307-0703

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- States and localities received more than $5.47 billion from the Justice Department in Fiscal Year 2002 to assist with criminal justice activities, according to a report released by the Department today. The largest category of funding was for law enforcement at $2.51 billion. The next largest category was for addressing substance abuse at $985.2 million. Subsequent funding categories included juvenile justice at $656 million, nearly $647 million for counterterrorism, almost $541 for victims and $129.38 million in the community-based category.

"We are committed to making federal funding information available to federal, state and local officials so they can make informed decisions about allocating resources to their programs," said Attorney General John Ashcroft. "By partnering with state and local policymakers, we can invest our funds wisely to ensure public safety."

The Justice Department awarded states and territories $249.77 million more in Fiscal Year 2002 than in Fiscal Year 2001. The majority of states received increased funding. Because many of the larger grants are awarded to states based on population, heavily populated states received more funding than less populated states. The funding report also includes discretionary grants that are awarded competitively to communities or nonprofit agencies including faith-based organizations.

Law Enforcement

Almost 46 percent, or $2.51 billion, of the total amount was awarded for initiatives such as hiring and training police officers, training emergency first responders and purchasing equipment. Funds awarded by the COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) Office are included in this category as are the Bulletproof Vest Program grants, which are new to the report this year. The COPS Office provides grant funding to advance community policing in jurisdictions across the country.

Substance Abuse

$985.2 million was targeted at substance abuse. Funds were awarded for interdiction and enforcement efforts and prevention and drug treatment programs, including drug courts.

Juvenile Justice and Counterterrorism

Juvenile justice activities received $656 million and nearly $647 million was dedicated to counterterrorism efforts, a new functional area added to the report this year. The counterterrorism category includes money for training emergency first responders and purchasing equipment, as well as research and development of counterterrorism technology. Juvenile justice funds include money for delinquency prevention programs such as mentoring and reducing gang violence.

Support for Victims

The majority of funding in the victims category (almost $541 million) went directly to states to provide compensation and assistance for crime victims and to combat domestic violence and sexual assault. This figure included money that was awarded to several states to compensate victims in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Community Assistance Through Weed and Seed

A large portion of the community-based category funding, $129.38 million last year, is provided through the Weed and Seed program. Weed and Seed is a strategy that aims to prevent, control and reduce violent crime, drug abuse and gang activity in targeted high-crime neighborhoods.

For the second consecutive year, the Justice Department is providing an annual report detailing all funding the Department's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office have awarded to each state and territory. The report is available online at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fy2002grants and www.cops.usdoj.gov

The Justice Department report lists specific grantees in each state alphabetically by city within six functional areas and summary information for each city. There is also a separate listing of all grants to the state alphabetically by city.

A list of the total grant amounts awarded to each state is attached. State points of contact can be found at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/state.htm Information about the COPS Office and its programs can be found at www.cops.usdoj.gov The state funding reports are available only on the OJP and COPS Office Web sites at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fy2002grants and www.cops.usdoj.gov, respectively.

The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP is headed by an Assistant Attorney General and comprises 5 component bureaus and 2 offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime, as well as the Executive Office for Weed and Seed, and the Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education. Information about OJP programs, publications, and conferences is available on the OJP Web site, www.ojp.usdoj.gov

--- U.S. Department Of Justice Office of Justice Programs and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

FY 2002 Awards By State (state and award amount)

Alabama: $70,810,865 Alaska: $44,925,163 Arizona: $111,940,556 Arkansas: $47,251,719 California: $649,026,833 Colorado: $73,102,022 Connecticut: $98,676,509 Delaware: $19,186,300 District of Columbia: $73,239,889 Florida: $254,214,418 Georgia: $169,800,576 Hawaii: $23,364,467 Idaho: $30,322,224 Illinois: $177,798,657 Indiana: $70,538,312 Iowa: $44,594,080 Kansas: $45,848,576 Kentucky: $69,838,511 Louisiana: $77,858,217 Maine: $28,113,529 Maryland: $153,100,204 Massachusetts: $110,312,028 Michigan: $115,489,574 Minnesota: $68,200,019 Mississippi: $72,039,328 Missouri: $87,533,002 Montana: $34,546,836 Nebraska: $33,857,202 Nevada: $52,713,832 New Hampshire: $73,363,335 New Jersey: $157,538,435 New Mexico: $63,311,968 New York: $496,338,422 North Carolina: $97,377,019 North Dakota: $21,065,025 Ohio: $118,285,341 Oklahoma: $72,874,090 Oregon: $67,916,871 Pennsylvania: $141,272,544 Rhode Island: $27,491,844 South Carolina: $74,655,374 South Dakota: $57,807,980 Tennessee: $89,508,346 Texas: $316,189,964 Utah: $59,486,370 Vermont: $25,968,803 Virginia: $257,546,471 Washington: $105,154,822 West Virginia: $49,910,896 Wisconsin: $78,287,669 Wyoming: $19,294,366 American Samoa: $5,569,629 Guam: $8,602,736 Northern Mariana Islands: $3,657,838 Puerto Rico: $54,586,959 Virgin Islands: $18,247,010

TOTAL: $5,469,553,574