President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is finishing up the year by giving grants to cities across the country “grappling with a dramatic rise in violent crime,” far-left CNN reported on Monday.
The publication pointed to a December 20 release from the DOJ announcing that hundreds of communities and organizations are eligible or are being awarded grant awards from a $1.6 billion pot to support programs that will supposedly reduce violent crime.
Attorney General and failed Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland said in a statement:
The Department of Justice is committed to supporting our state and local partners to combat crime across the country. This latest round of funding will deliver critical public safety resources, helping public safety professionals, victim service providers, local agencies and nonprofit organizations confront these serious challenges.
One of the grants is the Justice Assistance Grant program (JAG), which will split up more than $271.9 million between 56 state law enforcement agencies and 900 cities and counties. The money could fund programs like “multijurisdictional drug and gang task forces, crime prevention and domestic violence programs, courts, corrections, treatment, justice information sharing initiatives, or other programs aimed at reducing crime and/or enhancing public/officer safety,” the program’s description states.
The grants follow a tumultuous period for cities, many of which struggled with protests last year in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. In response to the protests, lawmakers in some cities like San Francisco, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and New York City proposed cutting back on their police departments’ budgets to redirect the funds into other community programs.
According to the report, Seattle and Chicago have both been awarded large chunks of money, $771,127 and $2,407,095. Notably, Seattle has repeatedly slashed its policing budget, and Chicago has already had more than 800 homicides this year.
“Philadelphia is eligible for $1,499,662; Baltimore can receive $1,364,052; New York City is eligible for $4,095,916 and Los Angeles may collect $2,692,835,” the report continues. Both New York City and Los Angeles caved to the Defund the Police agenda during the summer of 2020.
Hennepin County in Minneapolis, which is where four police officers were charged in connection with George Floyd’s murder, was awarded $590,659. San Francisco city and county are eligible for $460,341, and Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, is eligible for $922,735.
The largest JAG recipients are California’s Board of State and Community Corrections ($19,447,453), the office for the Governor of Texas ($14,531,729), and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement ($10,886,155).
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