[StBernard] Rep. Melancon Announces $944, 766 Grant for Law Enforcement in Louisiana

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Fri Sep 21 21:35:21 EDT 2007


WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Representative Charlie Melancon (D-LA) announced today that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will award a grant of $944,766 to the Louisiana State Police to improve their crime labs and reduce the backlog of forensic DNA casework samples waiting to be analyzed. The grant is awarded through a Justice Department program aimed at combating crime by helping states and local government criminal justice systems use the full potential of DNA technology.

“Funding like today’s grant to the State Police will help Louisiana’s law enforcement officers solve crimes and upgrade their technology and facilities,” said Rep. Melancon. “Louisiana has faced many hardships since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, most disturbing of which is the increase in violent crime. This is hindering our recovery and worsening already existing problems, and I will continue to support more federal funding to help Louisiana’s sheriffs and police officers make our communities safer places to live.”

The Louisiana State Police will use this federal grant to improve DNA laboratory infrastructure and increase analysis capacity so DNA samples can be processed more efficiently and cost effectively. The grant will also be used to analyze existing backlogged forensic DNA casework samples from violent crime scenes. Improvements are vital to decreasing the crime rate in Louisiana, which has risen since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The state now ranks 10th in the nation in violent crime.

In Congress, Rep. Melancon has been an advocate for crime prevention and additional funding to support law enforcement in Louisiana. Earlier this year, Rep. Melancon fought to add $50 million in crime prevention and control grants to the 2007 Emergency Supplemental Bill, which was passed last May. The grants added to this bill are part of the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program, which aims to help local law enforcement reduce violent crime, combat drug activity, and provide training for law enforcement. In Louisiana, these discretionary grants were targeted to communities that had an increase in violent crime following the 2005 hurricanes.

Rep. Melancon has also strongly supported federal funding to help state and local governments combat drug abuse, protect citizens from crime, provide assistance to victims, and help bring communities together through community-oriented policing. In July, Rep. Melancon voted in support of $3.2 billion to support state and local law enforcement and fund crime prevention grants, such as the grant announced today for Louisiana’s DNA crime labs, for fiscal year 2008. This appropriations legislation (H.R. 3093), which passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate, provided $1.7 billion more to fight crime than the President requested, and $334 million than had been appropriated for these priorities the previous fiscal year.

Among other important priorities, the legislation would help local law enforcement deal with the increasing problem of illegal immigration. The bill provides $405 million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), which assists state and local governments with the costs of jailing undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes. The President’s budget proposed eliminating funding for this program.

The legislation also provides $725 million for Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), including $100 million for the “COPS on the Beat” hiring program. It is estimated that 2,800 new police officer’s could be put on America’s streets with these funds. Also includes is $175 million for expanding DNA analysis and forensic crime lab capacity and $85 million for beefing up enforcement in “meth hot spots” – places where methamphetamine production and use is a serious problem.

The bill provides $430 million for the federal Office on Violence Against Women, which works to reduce violence against women and strengthen services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Rep. Melancon also supported the legislation because it provided $1.3 billion – $765 million above the President’s request – for federal grants to state and local law enforcement organizations, such as the grant awarded today for Louisiana’s DNA crime labs.


>From 2001 to 2006, Justice Department grants funding state and local law enforcement and crime prevention were cut by $1.9 billion. Last year, the FBI reported that violent crime increased in 2005 and 2006 for the first time in years.


“Louisiana’s law enforcement needs more support from the federal government in fighting crime, not less, which is why I strongly supported increased federal funding for the Justice Department,” said Rep. Melancon. “From helping local law enforcement officers deal with illegal immigration, to putting more police officers on our streets, to funding grants like the one announced today for the Louisiana State Police, this bill will improve the partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement officials in fighting crime and making our communities safer.”

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