Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. — Governor Tom Wolf today announced the availability of $185 million in state funding for two new programs that improve community safety by ensuring adequate resources for local law enforcement and offices county prosecutors.
“With adequate resources, our local law enforcement and investigative offices can better protect and serve our communities,” Governor Wolf said. “This is $185 million to answer calls for help, get criminals off our streets and prosecute violent crime to the fullest extent possible. It’s a down payment on peace of mind tomorrow and less heartbreak and bloodshed in the years to come.”
Governor Wolf secured $135 million for a local law enforcement support program and $50 million for a gun violence investigation and prosecution program in his final budget. Without the support of the Republican-led Pennsylvania General Assembly to enact common-sense gun violence prevention laws, Governor Wolf has worked to prevent violence through community investment and action. of the executive.
The $135 million Local Law Enforcement Program (LLES) provides law enforcement agencies with the resources to implement information technology improvements, purchase or upgrade the equipment, cover the costs of non-traditional law enforcement personnel, support retention and recruitment efforts, and provide necessary training. Priority for these grants will be given to areas of Pennsylvania with high rates of violence or to law enforcement agencies with low solve rates (i.e. lower ability to solve crimes).
Eligible applicants for the LLES program include local law enforcement, campus police or university police, railway or railroad police, airport authority police department, and police forces county parks. Maximum project amounts are based on the jurisdiction’s population or law enforcement agency type and range from $500,000 to $25 million to support project activities over a period of two years.
The $50 million Gun Violence Investigation & Prosecution Program (GVIP) provides county prosecutors’ offices and local law enforcement with more tools to investigate and prosecute gun violations and violent crimes committed with firearms. Funding can be spent on improving multi-agency gun violence task forces, personnel costs, technology and software to improve investigations or prosecutions or increase resolution rates, firearms tracing programs fire and any other effort that aids in the investigation, apprehension and prosecution of a crime. involving firearms.
Similar to the LLES program, maximum project amounts for the GVIP program are based on the population of the jurisdiction or law enforcement agency type and range from $500,000 to $25 million for support project activities over a two-year period. Priority for GVIP grants will be given to areas of Pennsylvania with high rates of gun violence, with at least $5 million earmarked for county attorney’s offices and law enforcement serving rural communities.
“I am confident that safer communities are within reach,” Governor Wolf added. “We are cracking down on phantom guns, investing in community violence prevention programs, and standing ready to benefit from President Biden’s Bipartisan Safter Communities Act. With an open mind, creativity, and partnerships, we will stave off violence and Let’s take the fear out of Pennsylvania communities.”
Both programs are administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). The application period for both solicitations will be open from September 1, 2022 to October 13, 2022 in PCCD’s Egrants system, with the awards to be announced in December 2022. More information about the solicitations can be found on the Enhancing Law webpage Enforcement and the Open the funding announcements webpage on the www.pccd.pa.gov website.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Elizabeth Rementer, Office of the Governor, ra-gvgovpress@pa.gov, 717-783-1116