“To reauthorize the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program Authorization Act of 2018, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states congressional findings regarding the Project Safe Neighborhoods program, a nationwide initiative launched in 2001 that coordinates Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community leaders, and other stakeholders to identify and address pressing community crime problems. The section further finds that the program operates in all 94 federal judicial districts across the 50 states and territories and implements four key components: community engagement, prevention and intervention, focused and strategic enforcement, and accountability.
This section reauthorizes the Project Safe Neighborhoods Block Grant Program—which provides grants to state, local, and tribal governments to reduce gun violence through prosecution of firearms offenses (i.e., under 18 U.S.C. §§922, 924) and related prevention activities—through FY2030 (from FY2021). The section also adds definitions of "crime analyst" (i.e., law enforcement employee who analyzes data to develop strategies against criminal threats) and "law enforcement assistant" (i.e., employee of a law enforcement or prosecuting agency aiding officers in investigative or administrative duties). Further, the section expands allowable uses of grant funds to include (1) hiring crime analysts for violent crime reduction, (2) overtime costs for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and law enforcement assistants, and (3) purchasing, implementing, and using technology for violent crime reduction.
This section adds support for multi-jurisdictional task forces as an additional purpose area under which the Attorney General may use funds authorized for the Project Safe Neighborhoods Block Grant Program (i.e., a DOJ program that supports partnerships among federal, state, and local agencies to develop plans, interventions, and data collection aimed at reducing violent crime).
This section requires the Attorney General to submit an annual report to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees detailing, for each area operating under the Project Safe Neighborhoods Block Grant Program and for the preceding one-year period, (1) how funds were spent, (2) community outreach efforts performed, and (3) the number and description of violent crime offenses committed, including murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.