SHREVEPORT/ LAFAYETTE/ALEXANDRIA/MONROE/LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley and the Department of Justice announced that 16 grants totaling more than $2.4 million have been awarded to 15 agencies within the Western District of Louisiana.
Two grants totaling $1.1 million were awarded to the Wellspring Alliance for Families in Monroe; more than $500,000 was awarded to the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe in Marksville; and more than $224,000 was awarded to the Lafayette Consolidated Government. The remaining 12 grants were awarded to law enforcement agencies within the District.
Law enforcement agencies receiving the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance include:
Alexandria: Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office: $75,460 to increase arrests and successful prosecutions;
Bastrop: Morehouse Parish Sheriff’s Office: $11,831 to support policing operations;
Bossier City: Bossier City: $25,693 to purchase supplies, equipment and new technology;
Franklin: St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office: $13,194 to purchase equipment;
Lafayette: Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office: $92,126 to support law enforcement initiatives;
Lake Charles: Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office: $61,468 to support essential law enforcement services;
Monroe: Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office: $63,758 to purchase equipment to increase officer safety;
Natchitoches: City of Natchitoches: $12,062 to purchase equipment;
New Iberia: Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office: $16,846 to purchase computer equipment;
Opelousas: St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office: $36,444 to purchase supplies, equipment and new technology;
Shreveport: City of Shreveport: $115,505 to improve officer safety and increase law enforcement services; and
Sulphur: City of Sulphur: $12,422 to purchase law enforcement related-equipment.
Agencies receiving other grants this year in the District include:
Lafayette: Lafayette City/Parish Consolidated Government (Lafayette Police Department): $224,668 through the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program, through the Office of Violence Against Women, to be used with Faith House Inc. to improve safety for domestic violence victims in Lafayette Parish.
Marksville: Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana: $544,768 through the FY 2015 Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program (IASAP), from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, to be used to implement an IASAP.
Monroe: Wellspring Alliance for Families: $600,000 through the Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program, from the Office of Violence Against Women, to be used to strengthen civil and criminal legal assistance programs for adult and youth victims of abuse or violence, which includes hiring attorneys and support staff. The Wellspring Alliance for Families will also receive $500,000 through the Justice for Families Program, from the Office of Violence Against Women, to be used to provide victim services and training for employees and government officials.
“These grants will help to strengthen law enforcement agencies and other organizations, which will benefit the public throughout this District,” Finley stated. “The purchase of equipment, upgrade of technology and improvement to law enforcement safety that these grants will fund demonstrates the commitment the Department of Justice and my office have to help local agencies meet the challenges facing them.”
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. The OJP has six bureaus and offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART). For more information on grant award programs, visit www.bja.gov.