(The Center Square) – The U.S. Justice Department provided New Mexico organizations with 68 grants totaling $45 million to boost public safety, it announced in a press release this week.
The Office of Justice Programs issued these grants to help “build community capacity to curb violence, serve victims and youth, and achieve fair outcomes through evidence-based criminal and juvenile justice strategies,” according to the release.
Under this grant program, the Justice Department provided about $4.4 billion to 3,700 organizations.
The state’s Crime Victim Reparation Commission received the largest grant. It got an $8.8 million grant for its Victims of Crime Act assistance fund.
“This applicant will provide funds from the Crime Victims Fund to enhance crime victim services in the State,” the Justice Department explained in its grant database. “Victims of Crime Act assistance funds are typically competitively awarded by the State to local community-based organizations that provide direct services to crime victims.”
The New Mexico Department of Public Safety received the second-largest grant; it obtained $2.85 million from the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program.
“The Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (Byrne SCIP) provides formula funds to implement state crisis intervention court proceedings and related programs or initiatives, including, but not limited to, extreme risk protection order programs that work to keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or others, mental health courts, drug courts, and veterans treatment courts,” a description of the program from the Bureau of Justice Assistance said.
Similarly, the Department also got a $2.11 million grant from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.
“The JAG Program provides states, tribes, and local governments with critical funding necessary to support a range of program areas including law enforcement, prosecution, indigent defense, courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, planning, evaluation, technology improvement, crime victim and witness initiatives, mental health programs and related law enforcement and corrections programs, including behavioral programs and crisis intervention teams, and implementation of state crisis intervention court proceedings and related programs or initiatives including, but not limited to, mental health courts, drug courts, veterans courts, and extreme risk protection order programs,” a description of the program from the Bureau of Justice Assistance said.
Additionally, the City of Albuquerque was the recipient of a $2.05 million grant from the Byrne Discretionary Grants Program. It will use the funding to bolster its Community Safety and Violence Intervention programs. Part of this effort will include using the funding to explore creating a city Office of Violence Prevention.
Plus, the National Indian Youth Leadership Development Project got $2 million for Project Venture. It is a mentoring program meant to improve mental health and nutritional guidance while preventing substance abuse and delinquent behavior in American Indian youth.
“Everyone in this country deserves to be safe in their communities,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the release announcing the grants. “That is why, in addition to continuing our efforts to identify and prosecute the most violent criminals, the Justice Department is putting every available resource to work to support the efforts of our law enforcement and community partners nationwide. This significant investment will go directly to state and local programs that support the victims of crime, support officer safety, and wellness, build the public trust in law enforcement essential to public safety, and help make all of our communities safer.”
