Bureau of Justice Assistance Awards $1 Million in Fight Against Homicides and Gang Violence

BJA has awarded $1 million to the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to help law enforcement agencies respond to increased homicides and gang crime in the city of Selma and the surrounding area. The homicide rate in Selma has doubled in recent years, and gang violence is on the rise. Gang members have engaged in drug and firearms trafficking, hindered prosecutions and targeted police officers for violent attacks, luring them with false 911 calls into ambushes where they are shot at with high-powered rifles.

BJA had invited the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, an established state agency with a recognized ability to oversee emergency law enforcement situations, to apply for funding under the Emergency Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Program. The EFLEA program allows BJA to make funds available to a state government to respond effectively to an "uncommon situation," or one that is, or threatens to become, serious or epidemic in scope and in which state and local resources are inadequate to protect the lives and property of citizens. Funding under this award will provide much-needed equipment for officers and overtime expenses to perform saturation patrols in high-crime areas. This program supports the Department of Justice's mission of reducing crime and supporting public safety personnel in the context of an emergency situation.