Join the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) for a free, virtual presentation on their latest study “Averting Targeted School Violence: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Plots Against Schools” on Tuesday, June 29 at 12:00–3:30 p.m. ET. The study examines 67 disrupted plots against K–12 schools and highlights the importance of proactive reporting and intervention. This presentation is a replay of a previously broadcast live event from March 30, 2021.
Visit the U.S. Secret Service NTAC website to see a detailed agenda and register for the event.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance currently has over 30 funding opportunities with deadlines in June and July, and they update their website regularly with new opportunities. To see if your agency might qualify to apply, visit BJA’s funding page and check out their informational webinars to learn more about the opportunities.
Some examples of current funding topics include white collar crime, corrections, substance abuse, reentry, sexual assault, forensic science, DNA evidence, smart policing, justice and mental health collaborations, hate crimes, crisis response training, crime gun intelligence, body-worn cameras, and violent crime.
Need help crafting an application? Grant Strategist Joan Brody shares what to consider when applying for grant funding.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) administers the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Program. The Medal of Valor is the highest honor for public safety officers, and it was created when Congress passed The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2001. The President or Vice President award the medals annually to public safety officers who have exhibited exceptional courage, regardless of personal safety, in the attempt to save or protect human life.
The program defines a public safety officer as “a person (living or deceased) who is serving or has served in a public agency, with or without compensation, as a firefighter; law enforcement officer, including a corrections, court, or civil defense officer; or emergency services officer, as determined by the U.S. Attorney General.”
The program states that “an act of valor is considered to be above and beyond the call of duty; and exhibiting exceptional courage, extraordinary decisiveness and presence of mind along with unusual swiftness of action, regardless of his or her personal safety, in an attempt to save or protect human life.”
Nominations for the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Program are now open and are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 31, 2021. Qualifying events must have taken place between June 1, 2020, and May 31, 2021.
Many agencies are looking for alternative ways to respond to calls for low-level incidences. To help address this, the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program held the webinar “Alternative Response to Calls for Service—Denver STAR Program” in March 2021. During this webinar, Dr. Matthew Lunn, Manager of Strategic Initiatives at the Denver, Colorado Police Department (PD), discussed Denver’s Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program, which consists of a team of mental health clinicians and a paramedic who are dispatched to calls for low-level incidences such as trespassing, substance misuse-related, or behavioral health episodes. Dr. Lunn discussed planning and implementing the STAR program and its early outcomes.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The U.S. Department of Justice has many programs and resources dedicated to officer safety and wellness, including addressing mental health and preventing suicide. These are a few of them:
- The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) supports the Officer Robert Wilson III Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement Officers and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability (VALOR) Initiative. VALOR offers no-cost training, conducts research, provides resources, and establishes partnerships to benefit law enforcement officers. Their programs and resources address the following topics: comprehensive officer safety and wellness, law enforcement resilience, law enforcement suicide prevention, roadway safety for law enforcement, officer safety and wellness research, and strengthening partnerships.
- BJA offers various additional resources and programs related to law enforcement officer safety and wellness. These resources focus on mitigating the impact of stress on officers and their families, preventing suicide among law enforcement officers, increasing officer safety by defusing difficult situations, and promoting public confidence in policing and, in doing so, honoring those who serve.
- BJA supports the National Consortium on Preventing Law Enforcement Suicide (Consortium). The International Association of Chiefs of Police, in partnership with the Education Development Center and with support from the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, convened the Consortium in 2019. From that Consortium, various subject matter experts developed the National Consortium on Preventing Law Enforcement Suicide Toolkit, which provides various resources for agencies in preventing and addressing law enforcement suicide.
- The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services convenes a National Officer Safety and Wellness Group that brings together subject matter experts to address important factors that contribute to officer safety and wellness.
May is National Drug Court Month, honoring the work that drug court professionals do around the country to help those impacted by substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders. Below are some drug court resources developed by some of BJA’s training and technical assistance grantees.
The University of North Carolina Wilmington Social Science and Applied Research Center houses the National Drug Court Resource Center (NDCRC). NDCRC provides many best-practice resources for treatment court professionals that “include operational materials organized by court type, seminal readings for treatment court stakeholders, calendar of professional development opportunities, moderated discussion board for all treatment court professionals, and more.”
The National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) manages the NADCP E-Learning Center, which offers free, self-paced courses managed by experts in the field, and the courses are geared to practitioners at all experience levels.
The Tribal Law and Policy Institute (TLPI) hosts an annual Tribal Healing to Wellness Court training at no cost to attendees. This year’s virtual training will take place June 21–25, 2021, and those interested can learn more by visiting TLPI’s website dedicated to the event.
To help law enforcement officers, criminal justice practitioners, and their families avoid doxing, the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, created several Officer Cybersafety microlearning modules. These modules take no longer than 10 minutes to complete and focus on minimizing the risk of compromise through apps, browsers, and devices. Individuals can complete step-by-step instructions with their apps, browsers, and devices during the training to increase security.
The National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) has now posted resources related to events hosted during Reentry Week (April 26–30 2021). These events helped show how reentry plays a vital role in fostering successful communities and neighborhoods. Throughout the week, NRRC shared various resources, including webinars, publications, and podcasts that blended reentry expertise with lived experience. These resources are now available on NRRC’s website and address the following topics:
- Employment and education
- Behavioral health and housing
- Youth and families
- Making reentry work
- The importance of evaluation
The National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) recently launched The NCJA Podcast, which is supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The podcast series “will explore promising practices, provide guidance on strategic planning, and discuss the fundamentals of the Byrne Justice Assistance (Byrne JAG) program.” New episodes will be regularly released and will focus on the important Byrne JAG-funded work happening in various states across the nation to address crime.
The National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) recently released their Virtual Academy, an interactive learning platform that was developed in collaboration with law enforcement experts and practitioners. It features self-paced courses and is meant to serve PSP sites and other law enforcement agencies and professionals.