Law enforcement

5/29/2009 -- Raleigh -- North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue today announced the awarding of $62 million in grants to state and local agencies to improve community safety and assist crime victims.

After reviewing more than 520 grant applications, the Governor’s Crime Commission (GCC) made awards for 315 programs in 86 counties, five universities and six state agencies. The money will help efforts to stop gangs, fight juvenile delinquency, assist victims of domestic violence and provide updated equipment for law enforcement agencies.    » read more »

05/29/2009 -- Building on his commitment to combat gang violence and protect public safety, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today joined law enforcement officials in Salinas to highlight California’s Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention (CalGRIP) funding and to announce the first-ever “Gifts for Guns” program in the area, modeled after the program created by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced that 150 Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice (LCLE) grants totaling over $20 million have been awarded to municipalities as well as law enforcement programs and agencies throughout the state. Governor Jindal said the grants will be used to enhance Louisiana’s criminal justice system and promote public safety.

Governor Jindal said, “We’re committed to providing our law enforcement officers and public safety agencies with the resources they need to keep our families safe. These grants will help ensure that our entire criminal justice system has the capacity to keep our citizens protected.”    » read more »

May 21, 2009 -- To increase public safety and aid law enforcement, Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson today signed the Omnibus Crime Bill.

“Safe communities are one of the reasons that businesses and families move to our state,” Parkinson said. “I appreciate the work the Legislature and the Attorney General did this session to keep Kansans safe and secure.”

“To better protect our families, we must give law enforcement the tools they need to fight crime and bring predators to justice,” Attorney General Steve Six said. “This legislation contains a number of provisions that will help law enforcement keep our communities safe. I was pleased to be the main proponent of the provision which closed the loophole for criminals that would flee & elude law enforcement officers.”    » read more »

05/15/2009 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today sent the following letter to United States Attorney General Eric Holder, urging the expedited release of Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Recovery Program funds available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

These funds will go toward salary expenses for law enforcement officers - officers who are receiving pink slips from their city and county employers due to the global economic crisis.

Full text of the letter:

May 15, 2009

The Honorable Eric Holder
Attorney General of the United States
U. S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Mr. Attorney General,    » read more »

May 14, 2009 -- Washington D.C. -- Timothy J. Healy has been named director of the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center (TSC). FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III appointed him to this position to replace Director Leonard Boyle, who recently left the FBI for a position in the private sector. Most recently, Mr. Healy served acting director of the TSC.

“The TSC strives to ensure the proper balance between protecting our national security and the need for accurate, efficient, and streamlined watchlisting processes. Tim’s experience in the TSC from its earliest days will be an invaluable asset to his service as its director,” said Director Mueller.    » read more »

Antitrust Division to Apply More Rigorous Standard with Focus on the Impact of Exclusionary Conduct on Consumers

May 11, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — Christine A. Varney, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department’s Antitrust Division, today announced that the Department is withdrawing, effective immediately, a report relating to monopolization offenses under the antitrust laws that was issued in September 2008.

As of today, the Section 2 report will no longer be Department of Justice policy. Consumers, businesses, courts and antitrust practitioners should not rely on it as Department of Justice antitrust enforcement policy.    » read more »

May 11, 2009 -- The FBI today released preliminary statistics indicating that 41 of our nation’s law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty in 2008. By region, 20 of the victim officers were killed in the South, nine in the Midwest, nine in the West, and three in the Northeast. The number of officers feloniously killed was 17 fewer than in 2007.    » read more »

May 7, 2009 -- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano unveiled the Department’s $55.1 billion FY 2010 budget request today, focused around five major priorities—counterterrorism; border security; enforcement of immigration laws; disaster preparedness, response and recovery; and Department unification—designed to create a leaner, smarter, more effective agency.    » read more »

President’s Request Supports Department’s Traditional Missions While Strengthening National Security Efforts

May 7, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the President’s FY 2010 budget proposal totals $26.7 billion for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to increase support for the Department’s traditional missions while strengthening national security efforts. The request represents a 3.8 percent increase in budget authority and an increase of 3,977 positions over the FY 2009 enacted appropriation.    » read more »

May 6, 2009 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr. said today that the Department of Public Safety received a record-high number of nearly 200 applications for $16.4 million in public-safety funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, the landmark federal law that is designed to energize the economy, create jobs and invest in communities and infrastructure.

Gov. Ritter said he was heartened to see such tremendous interest from law enforcement agencies around the state for these funds.

"The Recovery Act will help our law enforcement agencies expand their efforts to crack down on drugs and protect our communities, said Gov. Ritter. "These funds will keep police officers on the street and help grow the economy and stabilize neighborhoods."    » read more »

May 5, 2009 -- HARRISBURG – Initiatives to improve law enforcement and public safety, strengthen counterdrug training and ease prison overcrowding would get a significant boost if grant applications for more than $95 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding are approved.

Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today that the State Police, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Department of Corrections and the Commission on Crime and Delinquency recently submitted applications to aggressively pursue additional federal stimulus funding to enhance public safety initiatives.    » read more »

April 17, 2009 -- Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has signed the Kelsey Smith Act, allowing law enforcement to gather cell phone information more quickly during an emergency situation.

“While no legislation can ever bring Kelsey back, we can make sure that our dedicated police and rescue workers can now get the information they need, when they need it,” Sebelius said. “Our thoughts continue to be with Kelsey’s family, friends and community.”    » read more »

April 13, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice Tax Division today announced highlights of its work during the past year to defend and enforce the nation’s tax laws.

The Tax Division has assisted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in tracking down tax cheats who use offshore accounts, combating abusive tax shelters, stopping tax defiers and shutting down tax schemes and scams. During FY 2008, the Tax Division also successfully defended refund suits against the United States representing claims of nearly $803 million, and collected, through affirmative litigation, over $178 million. The Division’s budget in that period was less than $93 million.    » read more »

Waukesha Receiving $141,000 to Increase Technology, Improve Community Safety

April 09, 2009 -- WAUKESHA – Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle today announced a $30 million investment of Recovery Act funds to protect public safety, avoid cuts to police service and reduce future corrections costs. Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) funds will be used to target youthful offenders, fight drug abuse and trafficking, and reduce the number of offenders entering the corrections system. Governor Doyle also announced that Waukesha County will use $140,708 of Recovery Act funding to purchase equipment critical to officer and community safety.    » read more »