Archived | 2001 OJP Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? VAWO

TUESDAY, JUNE 26, 2001??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 202/307-0703

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS VERMONT $773,000

TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

WASHINGTON, DC - Attorney General Ashcroft announced today that the Justice

Department is awarding $773,000 to Vermont to prevent and respond to violence against

women, as part of this year?s STOP (Services, Training, Officers and Prosecutors) Violence

Against Women Formula Grants Program.? This program is funded under the Violence Against

Women Act (VAWA).

?No American should feel outside the protection of the law, or beyond the reach of the

law.? The STOP program supports communities that champion victims? rights and develops

?coordinated responses to violence against women,? said Attorney General Ashcroft. ?The funds

will give law enforcement and victim services the resources they need to do a better job of

investigating, prosecuting and preventing crimes against women.? We must continue to provide

our communities with the resources to hold offenders accountable and to meet the needs of

victims.?

STOP funds are used to promote partnerships among law enforcement, prosecution, the

courts and victim advocates to ensure victim safety and accountability for offenders.

The Justice Department has awarded Vermont over $4 million in STOP funds since 1995,

?for total funding exceeding $13.3 million under the VAWA grant programs since the

enactment of the VAWA legislation in 1994.? In the President?s FY 2002 budget request, the

Justice Department seeks $390 million in overall VAWA funding, a $102.52 million increase

over FY 2001.

Through this funding, states and communities are urged to restructure and strengthen the

criminal justice system response to domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, utilizing the

expertise of all participants working in the system, including victim advocates.

Vermont continues to fund projects that address identified needs and improve the criminal justice system?s response to violent crimes against women. ?

Current project priorities emphasize:? ???

? Improving the quality of the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence and sexual assault cases through coordinated community response efforts;

? Implementing a seamless criminal justice response to crimes against women by holding offenders accountable, keeping women safe, providing assistance to victims;

? ?Supporting six county-based multi-disciplinary domestic violence and sexual assault units;

? Improving law enforcement training; and

? Coordinating training and technical assistance to prosecutors statewide.

The STOP Program is authorized under the Violence Against Women Acts of 1994 and

2000.? The STOP grants are awarded by the Office of Justice Programs? (OJP) Violence Against

Women Office (VAWO) to designated state agencies, which must award 25 percent of the funds

they receive to law enforcement, 25 percent to prosecution, 30 percent to victim services,