USDOJ awards $1.1 million to Warm Springs for public safety

U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams joined the Department of Justice Thursday in announcing more than $113 million in grant awards to improve public safety, serve victims of crime, combat violence against women, and support youth programs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, including $1,1 million for the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation.

Of that $1,191,523 total, the Warm Springs tribes will receive $754,568 from the Public Safety and Community Policing (COPS) program and $436,955 from the Children’s Justice Act Partnerships for Indian Communities.

Other recipients in Oregon include the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission; Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; Coquille Indian Tribe; Cowcreek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians; and Klamath Tribes.

“Pursuing justice on behalf of tribal communities and supporting the development and growth of tribal law enforcement agencies, courts, and victim services has been a key focus of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for many years,” Williams said in a news release

“These awards mark the Justice Department’s continued commitment to ensuring all tribes have the resources necessary to keep their communities safe and effectively enforce the administration of justice on tribal land,” he added.

Nationwide, grants were awarded to 133 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages and other tribal designees through the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, a streamlined application for tribal-specific grant programs.

Of the $113 million, just over $53 million comes from the Office of Justice Programs, more than $35 million from the Office on Violence Against Women, and more than $24.7 million from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

In addition, the Justice Department is in the process of allocating up to $133 million in a first-ever set aside program to serve victims of crime in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The awards are intended to help tribes develop, expand and improve services to victims of crime by providing funding, programming and technical assistance. Recipients will be announced in the near future.

“With these awards, we are doubling the amount of grant funding devoted to public safety programs and serving victims of crime in Native American communities,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio, who made the announcement during his remarks at the 26th Annual Four Corners Indian Country Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

“There is an unacceptable level of violent crime and domestic abuse in American Indian and Alaska Native communities,” Panuccio said. “This increase in resources, together with our aggressive investigation and prosecution of crimes, shows how seriously Attorney General Sessions and the entire Department of Justice take these issues. We are committed to reducing violent crime and improving public safety.”

The Four Corners Conference is facilitated annually by U.S. Attorneys from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah to provide a forum for discussion of justice-related topics with a large number of populous and diverse tribal nations located in the region.

CTAS awards cover nine purpose areas: public safety and community policing; justice systems planning; alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; children’s justice act partnerships; services for victims of crime; violence against women; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs. CTAS funding helps tribes develop and strengthen their justice systems’ response to crime, while expanding services to meet their communities’ public safety needs.

The announcement is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

A listing of the announced CTAS awards is available at: go.usa.gov/xP2uc.