Byrne Bytes

Byrne JAG funding is administered by the State Administering Agencies, or SAAs, in all 56 states and territories. Learn more about the role of the SAA or to find the SAA in your state visit NCJA’s website.

Find your SAA: https://www.ncja.org/agency-directory

Byrne JAG is an important source of funding for Multijurisdictional Drug Task Forces who are fighting the scourge of fentanyl and other illegal substances. This funding allows these task forces to continue enforcement efforts and stem the flow of dangerous drugs while saving lives from overdoses and keeping families and communities safe and healthy.

For example, in Kentucky, the Byrne JAG-funded Bowling Green-Warren County Drug Task Force has made a number of fentanyl arrests while investigating overdoses, leading to a 5 percent decline in overdose deaths across Kentucky. The number of overdose deaths declined for the first time in four years, making Kentucky one of only eight states to see decreases.

Read more Byrne Bytes: https://www.ncja.org/byrne-bytes

Promoting positive interactions between at-risk youth and law enforcement prevents at-risk juveniles from entering or further penetrating the justice system. These prevention and early intervention efforts can include gang prevention and juvenile-focused community engagement programs, anti-bullying, counseling and mentoring initiatives, life skills and job development trainings and safe streets programming.

In Michigan, Byrne JAG funding supports the Westland K-12 Jefferson Barns Learning Lab. The Learning Lab offers after-school and summer tutoring for kids in an at-risk neighborhood. The lab is equipped with tablets, computers, 3D printers, robots and a hydroponics lab and is housed in a space originally allocated for Westland Police Department. It is staffed with certified educators via a partnership with Brain Media Technology and mentors from a local high school and local college’s engineering department. Officers from the Westland PD participate in the lab and interact with the kids. Often the students teach the police what they learn, providing confidence and pride in their technology education.

Learn more: https://sites.google.com/view/jbll/about

Byrne JAG is supported by a broad cross-section of the criminal and juvenile justice systems, including representatives from impacted communities, who recognize the central role Byrne JAG plays in preventing victimization, supporting innovative law enforcement practices, advancing the fair administration of and access to justice, serving and protecting crime victims, improving outcomes for the justice-involved, interrupting the cycle of crime, and leveraging other federal, state, local and private dollars in the balanced functioning of the criminal justice system.

Read more Byrne Bytes: https://www.ncja.org/byrne-bytes

The provision of language access services ensures full access to the justice system by all individuals. Language access is critical to accessing competent and effective, sometime lifesaving, services in the adult and juvenile justice systems. According to the National Center for State Courts, today most state courts have fully developed language access programs or have implemented key measures to promote the effective administration of language access services to LEP court users.

Byrne JAG can support these efforts. For example, in Hawaii, Byrne JAG funds support a project to improve language access in the courts through the translation of key court documents into 14 different languages. The effort also helps to screen and test translators for proficiency and provides them with practice tools for improvement.

To learn more, visit, https://www.ncsc.org/consulting-and-research/areas-of-expertise/language-access/language-access-called-to-action/the-future-of-language-access-in-the-state-courts

In 2022 Congress added a 9th purpose area to the Byrne JAG Program to support gun violence prevention and crisis intervention efforts in the states. In conjunction with President Biden signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law, the Department of Justice announced the new purpose area, devoted to the implementation of Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) programs and state crisis intervention court proceedings such as specialty courts and related programs or initiatives.

Funds can be used for purposes such as: conducting a statewide firearm violence landscape analysis, creating/expanding mobile crisis units and/or implementing the 988 dialing code, developing programs/software surrounding securing, storing, tracking and returning relinquished guns, creating hospital-based violence interruption programs and crime prevention through environmental design initiatives and disseminating informational campaigns about the prevalence of su***de rates among gun owners.

Pennsylvania is home to the country's first Stepping Up Technical Assistance Center. Originally funded by Byrne JAG, this TA Center helps counties participating in the Stepping Up Initiative with obtaining accurate baseline data on the number of people with mental illness in county jails, develops customized implementation plans and strategies, sets progress goals and assists in achieving results in reducing disproportionate incarceration of individuals with mental illness. In addition to direct technical assistance, the center provides counties with peer-to-peer interactions and offers resources and opportunities to connect with national experts on promising practices.

Learn more at https://stepuptogether.org/ #/

Byrne JAG funding requires states to undertake a strategic planning process that guides the use of these funds. The strategic planning process is a systematic way for an organization to set priorities, focus resources, ensure all stakeholders are working toward common goals, establish a process for evaluating planning processes and priority outcomes, adjust direction, and adapt within a changing environment. Byrne JAG strategic plans are required every five years and outline each state’s planning process and identify key priorities and goals for the funding.

To learn more about strategic planning, listen to the strategic planning episode of The NCJA Podcast, which discusses the who, what, how and why of strategic planning and highlights the basic steps for creating an effective plan.

Learn more: https://www.ncja.org/the-ncja-podcast

Byrne JAG funding is crucial to supporting information sharing and improving data systems, particularly for cross-agency collaboration. When it comes to gang-related investigations and prosecution, many law enforcement agencies work in silos, with little knowledge of gang activity outside of their jurisdiction. One program, funded in part by Byrne JAG, aims to track gang members and their crimes, and overall, to track any movement by the organizations and ensure connections can be made between and across cases.
Georgia developed a gang intelligence platform using Byrne JAG funding that allows law enforcement to input elements of crimes. On the backend, prosecutors and law enforcement can search and identify other crimes, both locally and statewide, that have similar characteristics. The platform is available in 15-20 counties with a goal to expand. As of 2018, 25,000 connections had been made across case files.

Learn more: https://www.ncja.org/byrne-bytes

Byrne JAG is a critical resource for preventing and responding to gun violence and other forms of violent crime in urban and rural communities. The funds provide law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and public defenders with resources to implement innovative approaches to violence prevention and intervention, to improve the criminal justice system and build trust within their communities. The grants also allow law enforcement and prosecutor collaboration within communities and across states to target regional drug trafficking organizations and other cross-boundary crimes.

Learn more about Byrne JAG: https://www.ncja.org/byrne-bytes

Targeting reentry services with an age and gender-responsive focus reduces recidivism rates. Connecticut used Byrne JAG funding to implement WORTH (Women Overcoming Recidivism Through Hard Work), a first-of-its-kind unit in the York Correctional Institution, Connecticut’s sole female-only prison.

WORTH is an innovative housing unit designed to meet the unique needs of young adult women aged 18 to 25. The progressive curriculum was largely developed by the program’s founding members and is designed to help women acquire and maintain the necessary skills to become successful following their release. The program has a restorative justice focus and a strong emphasis on family engagement and community involvement. Participants live alongside older mentors where they benefit from supportive staff and specialized services. The WORTH unit was featured on The NCJA Podcast.

Learn more about the program: https://bit.ly/43uIU1U

The hallmark of the Byrne JAG program is its flexibility. Funds can be invested across program areas that span the criminal and juvenile justice systems to address a jurisdiction’s most pressing need as well as fill in gaps across the entire system. It allows states to respond quickly to emerging needs and crises and allows states and localities to work across systems.

The vast majority of states extend the reach of Byrne JAG program dollars across the justice system by investing in multiple purpose areas. According to a recent data collection, 20 states invested in 4 or more program areas.

Learn more at https://www.ncja.org/data-on-how-states-invest-byrne-jag