City of Atlanta Eligible for department of Justice Grant

The City of Atlanta and Fulton County are eligible for a grant from the United States Department of Justice in the amount of  $1,603,404 under the Justice Assistance Grant Program.

The City intends to use these grant funds primarily for police equipment and information systems. Citizens are invited and encouraged to comment on the proposed uses of these funds.

A copy of the proposed application is available for review and comment at police headquarters. To receive a copy, call Mr. Dan Boozer at (404) 817-6782. 

Comments may be addressed to:
Mr. Dan Boozer
Administrative Services Manager
Atlanta Police Department
675 Ponce De Leon Avenue
Atlanta, GA, 30308
email: dboozer@atlantapd.org

CITY OF ATLANTA  - FULTON COUNTY

BYRNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT

PROGRAM NARRATIVE

The City of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia constitute the urban core of a metropolitan region of over four million people. The City and County have collaborated on a program using their allocated Justice Assistance Grant program funds to focus on clearly defined programs to enhance the criminal justice system in the City and County.

To this end, the City will receive $1,122,382 of the grant proceeds to implement the following programs:

1. The City will fund equipment to fully equip a mobile crime response unit. The vehicle itself will be purchased with the City’s Byrne Discretionary Comprehensive Homicide Reduction grant and the equipment to be purchased with the Justice Assistance Grant will complement and enhance this initiative. The City has been an active partner with the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia in collaborations to reduce violent crime in a targeted violent crime hot spot in the City. The City has dedicated its Comprehensive Homicide Initiative grant to collaborations with the U. S. Attorney and the Georgia Department of Corrections and Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole and other agencies to implement a comprehensive violent crime reduction program. The City Prosecutor has also been a partner with this effort, using a grant under the Community Gun Violence Prosecution program to intensify prosecution efforts focused on prosecuting violent offenders in the targeted crime reduction community. Allocation of Justice Assistance Grant funds for equipping the mobile response unit will further enhance the impact of this crime reduction initiative.
2. The City will also use a portion of the Justice Assistance Grant to procure a forensic video system that will provide police investigators with an advanced technology tool for criminal investigations, utilizing videotape evidence. This system will allow investigators to clarify images on videotape, to magnify specified images on the tape or spotlight a section of the video image. These tools will allow an investigator to better extract critical visual evidence from a videotape. Further, the features of this system will allow investigators to obscure certain portions of the video image when it is being viewed by any non- law enforcement personnel, such as victims, witnesses or consulting professionals.  In conclusion, use of this video forensic system will give investigators a powerful tool for recovery of critical visual evidence and for enhanced prosecution of cases in court.
3. To further enhance investigative efforts to reduce violent crime, particularly violent crime stemming from narcotics trafficking, the Atlanta Police Department will also utilize grant funds to rent vehicles for use in undercover operations.
4. The Atlanta Police Department will procure information technology hardware and software to expand the laptop report generation system, funded by a COPS MORE grant in 1995, to include other sections in the Criminal Investigations Division of the Atlanta Police Department. This advanced technology acquisition will also enhance the police records management system and provide for enhanced training at the Police Training Academy. The information systems upgrade will also include upgrading of printers, so that computer generated information, especially from the Tactical Crime Analysis Unit will be produced with greater clarity for command staff use to make critical resource deployment decisions.
5. The Atlanta Police Department intends to make use of Justice Assistance Grant funds for specialized training in the areas of forensic interview techniques, helicopter operation, computer forensics, crime scene processing, crime prevention, and other specialized law enforcement training. Training initiatives will also include equipment for the Training Academy to enhance firearms, computer, physical fitness, and defensive tactics training.
6. The Atlanta Police Department plans to supplement its current initiatives to recruit, hire, and train more police officers as the City funds additional sworn positions (100 funded in 2004 and 25 funded in 2005) and the pre-existing vacancies are filled.
7. The Atlanta Police Department plans to supplement its crime fighting initiatives with much needed police equipment that will support street level drug / theft / violent crime interdiction activities in field operations and criminal investigations. (Crime is down approximately -5% in 2002, -6% in 2003, -12% in 2004, and -18% YTD in 2005.)
8. The Atlanta Police Department plans to upgrade its equipment, security, and technology supporting the storage and retrieval of evidence, property, and contraband. This includes the testing of controlled substances, the testing of ballistic evidence (i.e. weapons, spent casings, and fired bullets), and the preservation of DNA evidence.
9. The Atlanta Police Department plans to supplement the purchase of $4.6 million in mobile data terminals, by upgrading the Central Records function through the purchase of hardware and software specifically designed to support this critical law enforcement function and complement the mobile data terminals program funded by the City.

The City of Atlanta is presenting its proposal jointly with Fulton County. The County will receive $481,021 of the grant proceeds. The County will fund several criminal justice programs and projects. The Fulton County programs to be funded with Justice Assistance Grant funds are as follows:

1. Legal Lives: A law related educational program, administered by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, bringing the criminal justice system into elementary school classrooms. The program is designed to teach children about the law, the legal system and the fundamental principles and values on which these are based. This program is intended to prevent juvenile delinquency by instilling in students a basic respect for the law. Fulton County projects this program to cost $21,000, to include $20,000 for travel costs and $1,000 for printing.
2. Junior District Attorney Program: This program is a crime prevention and educational program which exposes sixth grade students to various components of the criminal justice system. Middle school students are the focus of this crime prevention effort. Studies have indicated that most youth tend to experiment with criminal behavior at this point in their lives. Fulton County projects the cost of this program, to be administered by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office at $6,347, including $2,426 for an internship salary and $3,951 for supplies.
3. Abolish Chronic Truancy (ACT): Using early intervention through the prosecutor’s office, working with school administrators, the ACT Program identifies elementary school students with excess truancy in order to reduce absenteeism. The Fulton County program will complement truancy programs already in place by the Atlanta Police Department and Atlanta Board of Education and will require funding of $27,895 in part-time salary and fringes for one Assistant District Attorney.
4. Educational Advocate Program: This program, to be administered by the Juvenile Court of Fulton County, works to ensure that educational disabilities are recognized by the schools and to facilitate the administration of an appropriate educational program for the adjudicated student. Some 40% of children involved with the Juvenile Court of Fulton County have undiagnosed disabilities. School failure is the number one risk factor in juvenile delinquency. Program cost is budgeted at $77,363.
5. Sheriff’s Officer Overtime program:  The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office proposes to use paid overtime assignments of personnel at the Fulton County Jail to enhance security at the facility largely required due to staffing shortages. The overtime program is budgeted at $100,000.
6. Communications equipment: The Fulton County Police Department requires $99,956 to upgrade communications equipment to enhance interagency communications in the metropolitan Atlanta region.
7. Complaint Room Complaint Manager: The Drug Court of the Fulton County Superior Court requires a case manager to identify, assess and make recommendations on defendants who are eligible for the treatment program. Salary and fringes for the case manager are budgeted at $50,500.
8. Failure to Appear Investigator: Pretrial Services requires an Investigator to work in the field to locate defendants who fail to appear for court hearings or who fail to adhere to the terms and conditions of release. Investigator salary and fringes are projected at $50,530.
9. Forensic Social Worker: The Fulton County Superior Court requires a Forensic Social Worker to screen and evaluate defendants at the jail during booking and recommend to the court diversion of those non-violent defendants who have serious mental health issues and are co-dependent on drugs or alcohol. It is estimated that through this program, as many as 30% of the Fulton County Jail population may be diverted for necessary treatment. Salary and Fringes for this position are budgeted at $32,970.