FY 1998 Community Policing Discretionary Grants

Overview

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-322) authorizes the Department of Justice to make grants to increase deployment of law enforcement officers devoted to community policing on the streets and rural routes in this nation. As part of the Clinton Administration's commitment to combat and prevent crime in and around America's schools, the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has a new grant program, School-Based Partnerships, designed to keep children safe by reducing school-related crime. This program, which complements the COPS Office's efforts to add 100,000 officers to our nation's streets and support innovative community policing, will help make schools safer for all children. The School-Based Partnerships grant program will provide policing agencies with a unique opportunity to work with schools and community- based organizations to address persistent school-related crime problems. Applicants must focus on one primary school-related crime or disorder problem, occurring in or around an elementary or secondary school, such as: Drug dealing or use on school grounds, problems experienced by students on the way to and from school, assault/sexual assault, alcohol use or alcohol-related problems/DWI, threat/ intimidation, vandalism/graffiti, loitering and disorderly conduct directly related to crime or student safety, disputes that pose a threat to student safety, or larceny. The School-Based Partnerships program emphasizes problem analysis, a key component of problem solving, to help develop effective responses, including prevention and intervention efforts. For example, a problem analysis might show that 80 percent of the assaults on students at a particular school are committed by truant students with prior arrest records from other schools. A comprehensive response to this problem might involve a collaborative effort among a team of social services personnel, school administrative staff, police and probation officers. This team might work together to change policies and improve communication to exert more control over the offenders and the problem behaviors. Similarly, other responses may include: Training students in conflict resolution, restorative justice/community justice initiatives, crime awareness/prevention programs, programs targeting likely victims and offenders at high-risk times, social service intervention programs, physical changes in the environment to reduce the problem, and school policy and procedural changes. Applicants will use problem-solving methods to understand the causes of the problem; develop specific, tailor-made responses to that problem; and assess the impact of those responses. In order to help communities use creative problem solving to address school-related problems, this grant will fund resources such as: Computer technology; crime analysis personnel; the cost of conducting student surveys and victim/offender interviews; the cost of community organizers, school personnel and/or students involved in analyzing or coordinating the project; and training and technical assistance in collaborative problem solving. To complement this grant program, school resource officers may be hired through the COPS Universal Hiring Program (UHP) grant program. Although this grant program is focused on the careful analysis of a specific school-related crime problem, it is not intended to be overly complex or technical. Applicants are not expected to be experts in problem solving and crime analysis. Any organization concerned with school safety or crime issues is encouraged to participate in this program. Applicants that would like assistance in problem-solving techniques are encourage to plan for such technical assistance in their project budgets. This grant program is expected to be extremely competitive. A total of up to $12,000,000 in funding will be available under the School- Based Partnerships program. A local match will not be required, although applicants are encouraged to contribute cash or in-kind resources to their proposed projects. An additional $5.5 million will be available for further efforts under the School-Related Crime Prevention and Safety Initiative. Grant funds must be used to supplement, and not supplant, state or local funds that otherwise would be devoted to public safety activities. All local, Indian tribal, school police departments (consisting of officers with sworn authority) and other public law enforcement agencies committed to community policing are eligible to apply. Law enforcement agencies must partner with either a specific school, school district, or a nonprofit organization. A partnership between a policing agency and a specific school is encouraged, but if such a partnership is not practical, a policing agency may partner with a nonprofit community group. A collaboration agreement outlining the conditions and benefits each participant will contribute to the project must be included in the application. Law enforcement agencies (primary applicants) may submit only one application. Schools or community-based entities (secondary applicants) that apply as partners are expected to include student representatives in the project. An award under the School-Based Partnership grant program will not affect the eligibility of an agency to receive awards under any other COPS program. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) reference for this program is 16.710.

Dated: April 14, 1998. Joseph E. Brann, Director. [FR Doc. 98-10428 Filed 4-20-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4410-AT-M