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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEBJA
Thursday, September 7, 2000202/307-0703

MUSSELLSHELL COUNTY RECEIVES JUSTICE DEPARTMENT GRANT
TO PURSUE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO LOCAL PROBLEMS

Over $2.5 Million is Awarded to 22 Communities Nationwide

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7  -- The Justice Department announced today that Mussellshell County in central Montana will receive approximately $60,000 to improve the capabilities of the County Attorney's Office through enhanced patrol car technology.  This grant is one of 22 awards that the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is making to communities nationwide to support new approaches to reduce crime and encourage collaboration in the criminal justice system.

These grants are being made under BJA's third annual open solicitation for innovative concepts.  BJA received a total of more than 1,300 proposals from state, local and tribal government and justice agencies.

"Once again BJA received a vigorous response to this year's request for local solutions to local problems from every state and from virtually every segment of the criminal justice system. We are inspired by the response and eager to support and highlight the work of our local counterparts to make communities safer," said BJA Director Nancy Gist.  "Our measurement of the success of these projects will guide other communities confronting similar issues."

Mussellshell County Sheriff's Department, in partnership with Golden Valley Sheriff's Department, will improve patrol car technology with the installation of video recording systems.   By having nearly all incidents recorded, the amount of time the County Attorney must spend on cases will be reduced substantially with the availability of clear evidence.  The counties will also create a computer database to maintain a log of all video tapes.

Jurisdictions were invited to submit their ideas under nine categories: alcohol and crime, crime prevention among the elderly, improving access to services in rural and tribal settings, mental health, police partnerships, local crime and justice planning, improving front-end decision making, strategies to strengthen the adjudication process, and innovations in offender supervision and reentry.

The field of prospective applicants is limited to units and agencies of state, local or tribal government.

BJA received more than 3,000 proposals the first two years.  In FY 1997, the first year, BJA made 37 grants totaling $3.7 million, chosen from over 1,700 applications.  In FY 1998, BJA received over 1,300 proposals, and funded 32 projects totaling over $3 million.

Additional information about the Open Solicitation or BJA, is available at: https://ojp.gov/bja

Individual project summaries are available for each grant award on BJA's Website at: https://bja.gov/html/open.htm

Additional information on OJP and its programs is available at: https://ojp.gov.

FY 1999 BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE OPEN SOLICITATION AWARDS

STATE

GRANTEE

PROGRAM PURPOSE

CONTACT

PHONE

Alabama

Jefferson County

Mental Health

Joseph Curtain

205/325-5688

California

City of East Palo Alto

Offender Supervision and Reentry

Monika Hudson

650/853-3100

District of Columbia

District of Columbia

Department of Human Services Offender Supervision and Reentry

Valerie Boykin

202/724-5071

Florida

Dade County Legal Aid

Improving Access to Services in Rural and Tribal Settings

Maria E. Santanarina

305/579-1004

Hawaii

Prosecuting Attorney County of Hawaii

Local Criminal Justice Planning

Jay Kimura

808/961-0466

Illinois

Cook County Public Defender's Office

Strengthening the Adjudication Process

Nikki Whittingham

312/603-0600

Louisiana

27th Judicial District Attorney's Office

Strengthening the Adjudication Process

Deni Taylor

337/948-3041

Michigan

Kalamazoo County Corrections Advisory Board

Improving Front-End Decision Making

Thomas N. Edmonds

616/385-6173

Michigan

Macomb County Family Court/Juvenile Division

Offender Supervision and Reentry

Christine Antoskiewicz

810/469-5412

Michigan

State Appellate Defender Office

Strengthening the Adjudication Process

Dawn Van Hoek

313/256-9833

Montana

Musselshell County

Strengthening the Adjudication Process

Shawn Todd

406/323-1104

Nevada

State of Nevada Division of Child and Family Services

Local Criminal Justice Planning

Maggie Tracey

775/687-3983

New York

Dutchess County Criminal Justice Council

Local Criminal Justice Planning

Mary Ellen Still

914/486-2600

Ohio

The City of Riverside Police Department

Strengthening the Adjudication Process

William R. Ames

937/233-1820

Ohio

Massillon Municipal Courts

Alcohol and Crime

Edward J. Elum

330/830-1727

Oregon

Multnomah County District Attorney's Office

Strengthening the Adjudication Process

Michael D. Shrunk

503/248-3143

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

Offender Supervision and Reentry

Angela Cerilli

717/730-5011

Rhode Island

Rhode Island District Court

Improving Front-End Decision Making

Albert E. DeRobbio

401/458-5200

Texas

Travis County Probate Court #1

Police Partnerships

Jeri Houchins

512/255-1465

Utah

Uintah County Attorney

Improving Access to Services in Rural and Tribal Settings

Ken Wallentine

435/781-5435

Virginia

Greenville County/Pretrial Services

Improving Access to Services in Rural and Tribal Settings

Lance P. Forsythe

804/348-1035

Washington

King County Department of Adult Detention

Alcohol and Crime

Mary Ann Morbley

206/205-2224

BJA 00-205

CONTACT: Doug Johnson or Sheila Jerusalem of U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, 202-307-0703