The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is accepting nominations for the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing, which “recognizes individual state, local, or tribal sworn rank-and-file police officers, deputies, and troopers for exceptional efforts in effective community policing.” The Attorney General will present the awards at a ceremony honoring recipients in Washington, D.C., at the Great Hall of the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Department Building. Awards will be given to eligible candidates from small, medium, and large agencies who have demonstrated an activity exemplifying community policing and problem-solving principles in one of three areas: innovations in community policing, criminal investigations, and field operations. Nominations must be submitted by 8:00 p.m. EST, Friday, May 28, 2021.
Learn more and nominate an individual!
Please direct all general inquiries to dojpolicingawards@usdoj.gov.
In 1962, President Kennedy designated May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. National Police Week pays special recognition to officers who have fallen in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. Due to challenges with COVID-19, National Police Week looks a little bit different this year. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund will host virtual events during the week of May 9–15, 2021 with a focus on officer safety and wellness. This will include a virtual candlelight vigil to be held on May 13, 2021.
In-person events have been postponed to October 13–17, 2021 in Washington, DC, and interested participants can register for those events on the Concerns of Police Survivors website.
As part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, the Office for Victims of Crimes recognized individuals and organizations who had performed outstanding victims’ rights services. This year, the Award for First Responders was presented to Robin Taylor of the Geauga County Sheriff’s Department in Ohio and John Guard, Chief Deputy with the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina, which underscores the vital role of law enforcement in supporting victims. The awards, which also recognize victim service volunteers, allied professionals, researchers, and future leaders, among other victim service professionals, were selected from nominations of those showing extraordinary leadership, vision, and community engagement as they supported victims. OVC shared biographies, photos, and short tribute videos of the winners.
Learn more about the winners or about how law enforcement can support victims of crime.
Join the National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) and its partners for National Reentry Week on April 26–30, 2021. They will be sharing resources, including on-demand webinars, podcasts, and publications throughout the week. Each day will focus on a different topic: employment and education, behavioral health and housing, youth and family, making reentry work, and evaluation. Those interested in participating in daily live webinars related to these topics can register on NRRC’s website.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many courts worked to switch to a virtual format, while criminal court cases became backlogged. This problem has continued throughout the pandemic to the point that some courts face such a large backlog that some cases may need to be dropped. To help address this challenge and others related to virtual courts and backlogged cases, the Prosecutors’ Center for Excellence published the report “Prosecutor Backlog Causes, Data and Solutions” in January 2021. This short report offers useful, actionable steps to help prosecutors address backlogged cases.
Please note that the application deadline has passed.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is accepting applications for the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP). PSP serves as a U.S. DOJ-wide initiative that enables cities experiencing high rates of violent crime to partner with DOJ and to receive intensive, coordinated training and technical assistance (TTA) from DOJ to support and enhance public safety and community violence intervention (CVI) strategies.
DOJ is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights, increases access to justice, supports crime victims, protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community. The PSP initiative supports and advances DOJ’s principles in all of its activities.
PSP offers cities the opportunity to take advantage of:
- Three years of formal engagement, coordinated through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, to support DOJ’s commitment to and partnerships with jurisdictions on building capacity, increasing collaboration, and sharing promising practices in a variety of public safety areas
- Needs-based strategic assessments to support your city's violent crime prevention and community engagement efforts
- Access to subject-matter expert consultation and customized TTA
In 2021, DOJ will review potential candidates to join the Partnership. Interested jurisdictions should complete the Training and Technical Assistance Request Form and Statement of Interest by 11:59 p.m., ET, on Friday, July 2, 2021. Sites will be selected through a quantitative and qualitative evaluation process, in consultation with U.S. Attorneys and DOJ law enforcement partners. This process will consider, at a minimum, whether a jurisdiction:
- Has violent crime rates well above the national average;
- Is presently under-resourced in its capacity to drive down violent crime (special consideration may be given to rural jurisdictions)
- Has demonstrated readiness to participate in this collaborative initiative.
Review the Training and Technical Assistance Request Form and Statement of Interest for more information and to apply.
Note: Some users have reported the inability to open this PDF document from the Internet Explorer browser. If you experience difficulty, please use a different browser. If you continue to have issues, please reach out to BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov for assistance.
President Biden declared April as Second Chance Month in support of reentry services. Reentry Week will also take place April 26–30, 2021. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) will host virtual events and resources related to reentry during that week. Learn more.
The U.S. Department of Justice has dedicated many resources to help reduce recidivism and support reentry:
- BJA supports reentry services through the Second Chance Act and is currently accepting applications to their FY 2021 Second Chance Act Community-Based Reentry Program.
- The Office of Justice Programs’ Reentry Resource Center is “a one-stop-shop for information and resources on crime prevention and reentry policies, programs, services, supports, and other related efforts for the public and professionals.”
- The Clean Slate Clearinghouse, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor and BJA, aims to help adults and juveniles with criminal record clearance to help improve their employment, schooling, housing, and other outcomes.
- The National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC), funded by BJA, works to “advance the knowledge base of the reentry field,” “facilitate information exchange,” “promote what works in reentry,” and “provide information for people returning to communities and their families.”
- Since January 1, 2017, BJA training and technical assistance (TTA) grantees have provided 730 TTAs and 429 deliverables under Second Chance Act–related grants, and 140 TTAs and 147 deliverables related to recidivism.
As part of the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s e Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation Category 3: Responses to Alcohol and Substance Abuse and Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Training and Technical Assistance Program, the National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College produced the webinar “Building Stress-Resilient Tribal Communities.” This webinar discusses factors that lead to stress, the correlation between stress and alcohol and substance abuse, and ways to reduce stress and build resilience in tribal communities.
To learn more, view the webinar.
Bureau of Justice Assistance National Training and Technical Assistance Center
Cities across the U.S. are experiencing an increase in gun violence and homicides, especially in segregated, high-poverty neighborhoods. Black men and women, Latinos, and Native Americans are disproportionately impacted by this violence.
To address this, on April 7, 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration announced historic investments in community violence intervention (CVI) to combat the gun violence epidemic. The multidisciplinary plan includes information on the various government investments, including the American Jobs Plan, Medicaid funding, and leveraging existing grant programs. It also outlines involvement from the following U.S. agencies: Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Labor.
With the help of these agencies and programs, proven CVI strategies can help reduce gun violence through various means outside of incarceration.
As part of DOJ’s CVI efforts, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) will highlight CVI on its website. BJA NTTAC also supports jurisdictions looking to implement CVI strategies through training and technical assistance (TTA). Jurisdictions can request TTA on BJA NTTAC’s website.
Learn more: White House FACT SHEET: More Details on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investments in Community Violence Interventions
April is National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) is a Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) program that works to eliminate backlogs of untested rape kits. As part of these efforts, SAKI created the Core Standards for Sexual Assault Investigations Toolkit. The toolkit includes practices and procedures that should be used in every sexual assault investigation and is designed to help law enforcement personnel ensure all critical steps are taken and documented according to nationally accepted practices.
SAKI also has numerous resources for criminal justice professionals as well as resources for survivors.
About the program: “SAKI is administered by BJA and aims to create a coordinated community response that ensures just resolution to sexual assault cases through (1) a comprehensive and victim-centered approach, (2) jurisdictional capacity building to prevent high numbers of unsubmitted SAKs in the future, and (3) supporting the investigation and prosecution of cases for which SAKs were previously unsubmitted.”