RALEIGH ó Gov. Mike Easley today announced that the Governor’s Crime Commission awarded $20.6 million to state and local agencies to make communities safer and assist crime victims.
Included are grants for the Landis Police Department, Salisbury Police Department, Westside Community Foundation House of Hope and Prevent Child Abuse Rowan.
The money will help programs that detect and deter gang activity, assist victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, prevent juvenile delinquency and fight drug abuse.
“Preventing crime, gang activity, domestic violence and child abuse requires that we work together at the community, state and federal levels,” said Easley. “These grants help our state and local agencies develop programs and get the resources they need to keep our communities safe and secure.”
The commission awarded 187 grants to state and local agencies, including nearly $4.8 million to reduce and prevent gang activity and more than $5.8 million to help domestic violence and sexual assault victims. Most of the grants will support locally-developed initiatives designed to meet the specific needs for that community.
A portion of the grants will help state agencies with statewide initiatives. More than $930,000 will be used to upgrade the Statewide Automated Victim Assistance and Notification (SAVAN) system that helps notify crime victims of custody status and provides additional court information on offenders.
A grant to the state Department of Justice will help develop training for the investigation of high-tech crimes and telemarketing fraud.
The Administrative Office of the Courts received funds for drug treatment courts, federal drug prosecutors and initiatives dealing with domestic violence, child abuse and other family-related issues.
Money for the gang violence prevention programs was provided by the General Assembly through a special appropriation in 2007. Funding for the remaining grants comes annually from the U.S. Congress to the federal Department of Justice for distribution to the states in four categories: Justice Assistance Grants, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Grants, the Victim of Crime Act and Violence Against Women Act programs.
The Governor’s Crime Commission, a division of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, administers the federal grants to provide money to establish new programs. Once the new programs are in place, local resources are expected to be used to maintain them. For more information on the commission, go to: www.ncgccd.org.
Below are what area counties received:
Rowan
– Westside Community Foundation Inc., House Of Hope, $245,657.81
– Landis Police Department, tactical training and deployment, $6,634.50
– Salisbury Police Department, Salisbury Police Cadet Program, $24,741.55
– Prevent Child Abuse Rowan, forensic interview expansion, $150,000
County Total: $427,033.86.
Cabarrus
– Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office, Cabarrus County SHIELD Program, $91,632.14.
Davidson
– Lexington Police Department, Gang Initiative, $48,777.41.
– Family Services of Davidson County Inc., gang prevention through education, $95,000.
County total: $143,777.41
Iredell
– Diakonos Inc., counseling for domestic violence and sexual assault victims, 140,000
– Statesville Police department, best evidence, $2,250
– Troutman Police Department, street initiative 2008, $9,949.70
– Iredell-Statesville Schools, Sovereign Alliance for Youth Expansion, $335,451.61
County total: $487,651.31.
Stanly
– Oakboro Police Department, purchase mobile data computers and software, $8,996.27
– Oakboro Police Department, investigative overtime for drug activities, $9,261.26
County total: $18,257.53.