Contact: Violence Against Women Office,? 202-307-0703
Justice Department Awards Alaska $751,000
To Combat Violence Against Women
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General Ashcroft announced
today that the Justice Department is awarding $751,000? to Alaska 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 Alaska over $4
million in STOP funds since 1997, for total funding exceeding $11.6 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.?
The State of Alaska has used its STOP funds to
strengthen effective law enforcement, prosecution strategies, and victim
services in cases involving violent crimes against women by:
?
Expanding the Legal
Advocacy Project through training and use of??community
legal advocates and the development of legal resource materials for women;
?
Establishing an Alaska
State Troopers? training coordination position, hiring a DNA criminologist, and
providing sexual assault response training to local law enforcement officers;
?
Continuing the statewide
Violence Against Women Implementation Planning
??????????? ??????????? Conducting strategic planning
sessions, which address sexual assault issues.
With the 2001 funds, Alaska plans to strengthen victim
services, prosecution, and law enforcement.
In addition, Alaska plans to place a greater emphasis on providing
services
?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,
??????????? For
information about the Alaska STOP grant, contact Trisha Gentle, Executive
Director of Alaska?s Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, at
907/465-4356.? Information about the
STOP program and other initiatives involving violence against women is
available on VAWO?s Website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawoor
OJP?s Website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/, or by
calling the National Criminal Justice Reference Service toll-free at
1-800/851-3420.
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?? After hours contact: Angela Harless on
202/616-3266 or pager #888/763-8943