WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), partnering with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announced awards today totaling $7.8 million to assist in the investigation, prosecution, and prevention of violent crimes and drug offenses in public and federally-assisted housing, including Indian housing in the following locations: Oakland, CA; Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; New Orleans, LA; Detroit, MI; Kansas City, MO; Brooklyn, Staten Island, Roosevelt and Queens, NY; San Juan, PR; Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations, SD and Houston, TX. Strategic plans for local law enforcement and crime prevention efforts supported by these funds will be coordinated through local U.S. Attorneys' offices. Each site will receive $600,000. An additional 36 sites will receive $50,000 each to implement similar initiatives.

     "Creating safe neighborhoods is a priority of the Department of Justice," said Deborah J. Daniels, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. "These resources will support more aggressive prevention of violent crime in communities across the country."

     Each location will develop a strategic plan that will include local law enforcement and crime prevention components. The plans may include targeting drugs, guns and gang crime. Crime prevention may also include programs such as safe havens, after school activities, and offender re-entry initiatives. Landlords, housing developers, property managers and public housing authorities will join in the partnerships to identify critical needs and potential remedies in the selected sites. Local agencies, law enforcement officials, and non-profit organizations will also be involved in enhancing the long-range solutions.

     The strategic plans will include outcome based performance measures. Law enforcement initiatives, for example, might document reduction in crime statistics, and prevention activities like mentoring programs would monitor and measure the number of youth being served and determine positive changes in their behavior and life choices.

     The Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is implementing the initiative through OJP's Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO). CCDO reflects the agency's core mission of working with local communities to develop solutions that deter crime, promote economic growth, and enhance quality of life.

     "The Community Capacity Development Office develops partnerships and strategies to improve communities," said Nelson Hernandez, Director of CCDO. "The partnership with HUD is one example of CCDO's efforts to combine federal and local resources to prevent crime, improve services, and promote community revitalization."

     The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP is headed by an Assistant Attorney General and comprises five component bureaus and two offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and Office for Victims of Crime, as well as the Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education and the Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporates the Weed and Seed program and OJP's American Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Desk. More information can be found at www.ojp.usdoj.gov.

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