Spotlight

The Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) allocations are set by a federal formula. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) calculates Byrne JAG allocations for the state and local levels. When a local unit of government’s Byrne JAG allocation is less than $10,000, these funds are added to the State Administering Agency (SAA)’s state Byrne JAG award. SAAs vary in how they allocate these under $10,000 funds, with some agencies awarding them to the state police or to particular jurisdictions. Rhode Island has a unique approach to distributing these funds: a competitive solicitation process and a planning committee, composed of law enforcement officials, to make decisions.

The Rhode Island Local Law Enforcement Planning Committee (LEPC) discusses and plans for the under $10,000 pot of Byrne JAG money. The committee is composed of 10 chiefs of municipal police departments, appointed by the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, and a representative from state police. The committee is representative of all geographic areas, including seasonal tourist communities. The unique aspect of Rhode Island’s program is that the LEPC creates a competitive solicitation for projects benefiting statewide law enforcement. In the past, these projects have varied, including supporting the Rhode Island Police Accreditation Commission, funding for the state crime laboratory, training programs at the municipal police academy, and allocating funds for hate crimes trainings for law enforcement and local prosecution. 

Meet The NCJA Center for Justice Planning (NCJP)'s New Staff!

Since spring officially began on March 19, we asked our new NCJP staff to reveal their favorite spring activity. For full bios, click on the team member's name.

Priming vegetable garden beds and planting the seeds with her children is Program Manager Elisa Nicoletti’s favorite spring activity.

In the spring, Program Coordinator Iyana Crawford likes stopping by a winery and participating in a wine tasting.

Program Manager Anica Stieve’s favorite spring activities are planting flowers for her balcony and hiking.  

New From the NCJA Center for Justice Planning

Phase 3 of the State Administering Agency (SAA) Marketing Toolkit is live! This toolkit helps SAAs communicate their role and who they serve to key stakeholders, legislators and other partners and consists of a series of guides and customizable templates for SAAs to reference and edit for their agency’s needs. New documents for phase 3 include guidance and templates on communicating the impact of funded programs and communicating your agency’s funding priorities. Check it out here!

In Case You Missed It

Read about the START model, which helps families involved in the child welfare system that have at least one child under six and at least one parent with a substance use disorder.

Interested in learning more about evaluating one of your funded programs? Listen to Episode 31 of the NCJA Podcast to discover how to get started with program evaluation and what to expect.

Staff Recommends

Allison recommends this short and long report on using localized data to implement policy and programmatic interventions to drive meaningful criminal justice reforms, particularly around jail population reduction.

Elisa recommends checking out the research-informed podcast series Probable Causation, and in particular this episode that shares how insights from behavioral economics can reduce failures-to-appear in court.

Social Media For SAAs

Struggling to fill your social media feeds with content? Consider posting about the following items:

Post about National Youth Violence Prevention Week, April 22-26, 2024.

Bring attention to Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April.  

Celebrate National Arab American Heritage Month in April. 

Raise awareness for National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Post about National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 21-27, 2024.