Eric Holder, Mismanaged Crime Fund, District of Columbia 2013

The Department of Justice has awarded over $11 million to combat crime in 15 US locations, but critics say the move is too little, too late.

Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Director Denise E. O’Donnell announced the awards, which will target locations or neighborhoods with significant levels of crime compared to the overall jurisdiction.

One of the largest awards went to the Center for Court Innovation (CCI) in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, a hotspot for violent crime. The $600,000 grant is part of the department’s new Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) program.

BCJI is a data-driven approach that leverages research and innovation to identify the drivers of crime in a location and develop multi-faceted strategies to reduce it. The program will also develop the ability of the community to more effectively target these issues through training and technical assistance.

“While overall crime rates have continued to decline nationwide, some neighborhoods have experienced troubling increases in specific types of criminal activity,” said Attorney General Holder. “With today’s announcement, we reaffirm our commitment to relying on comprehensive, data-driven approaches for ensuring public safety – and investing in innovative strategies for protecting the American people from crime.”

Earlier this year, BJA awarded $2 million in Public Safety Enhancement grants to HUD’s Choice Neighborhood grantees in Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, and San Francisco. These grants are helping to transform public and assisted housing projects to respond to serious, pervasive public safety concerns in distressed neighborhoods.

BCJI awards are made to applicants consisting of a cross-sector partnership, including units of local government, criminal and juvenile justice agencies, non-profit organizations, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments. This year, BCJI selected the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to serve as the national training and technical assistance provider for the new BCJI grantees.

LISC will assist with an analysis of the crime in each community, engage residents, and provide ongoing support to ensure the sites effectively use data, research, and innovation to develop a comprehensive crime strategy.

The Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) brings together the Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Health and Human Services, and Treasury to align federal programs supporting neighborhood revitalization and implement interagency pilot programs.