2012 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Grants

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the 2012 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) grants. In an effort to build safe communities that allow children, families and all residents to thrive, BCJI targets communities facing significant crime and public safety challenges and provides the resources needed to reduce crime and support comprehensive community revitalization efforts.

A core program of the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI), BCJI recognizes that crime is one of several complex issues that communities must address in order to provide families and residents with safe and healthy environments that support their well-being. Furthermore, the BCJI approach considers the individual context of communities and recognizes that crime prevention strategies must be tailored to the unique needs of a particular community and the needs of its residents. BCJI is designed to provide communities with resources, such as training and technical assistance, to support the development of a revitalization strategy that uses resident engagement, data and a continuum of evidence-based approaches to reduce and prevent crime.

Building on NRI’s commitment to leveraging federal resources, the BCJI seeks applications that coordinate BCJI plans with other programs, such as Promise Neighborhoods and Choice Neighborhoods. Coordination with these programs recognizes NRI's commitment to comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategies that address several issues, such as poverty, housing and education. Though NRI encourages alignment between federal programs, BCJI applicants are not required to be co-located in the same jurisdictions as current Promise and/or Choice grantees.

Two categories of BCJI grants are available:

Planning and Implementation
Planning and Implementation grants will allow communities to design a BCJI strategy that addresses a community’s chronic crime issues. Applicants may already have crime prevention strategies in place. These strategies will be used as a platform for planning and implementing a more comprehensive BCJI strategy that utilizes resident engagement and community collaboration.  DOJ anticipates making 6 awards of up to $1 million within the Planning and Implementation category.

Enhancement 
Enhancement grants will strengthen and support existing community partnerships and strategies that address crime and safety issues within a community.  DOJ anticipates making up to 9 awards of up to $600,000. 

For more detailed information about these grant categories, as well as more specific information about the application requirements, please click here. Eligible applicants include state and local governments and nonprofit organizations. Applications are due June 11.