SR 04-23-2019 3K
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: April 23, 2019
Agenda Item: 3.K
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Cynthia Renaud, Chief of Police, Police Department
Subject: Accept Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG)
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to accept two grant awards in the amount of $28,293
and $31,350 from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Edward Byrne Memorial
Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) for implementation of the JAG 2017 and 2018
Crime Impact Project;
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents to accept the
grants; and
3. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
section of the report.
Summary
To reduce crime and ensure the safety and wellbeing of the City, SMPD utilizes a
variety of public safety and quality of life strategies, including the use of focused
operations that are supported by both sworn officers and civilian staff. In order to
prevent a reduction in routine service responses and to maintain the quality of regular
service, these supplemental crime suppression efforts are staffed using personnel on
overtime. To supplement funding for overtime costs to support these activities, the
Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) has been awarded two grants of $28,293 and
$31,350 under the 2017 and 2018 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant
Program (JAG), which is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Discussion
The JAG program is a formula grant that provides funding to support a range of
program areas including law enforcement. Formula allocations are awarded by the DOJ
to each State and then to local jurisdictions based on population and crime statistics.
Santa Monica has been an annual recipient of varying amounts of Justice Department
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grant funds for the past ten years. Past projects supported by this funding have included
interoperable communications equipment, funding of overtime for crime control
operations, funding for certified crime lab services, and funding for DNA forensic testing.
With the increasing number of visitors to the City, SMPD plans to leverage 2017 and
2018 JAG funds to fund additional overtime operations that will address identified public
safety challenges. This is consistent with Council’s identified Framework Priority of
Keeping Neighborhoods Safe. Without the additional funds from JAG, the opportunity to
run focused operations targeting specific issues and concerns is reduced. SMPD would
use the funds to plan crime control operations that specifically target priority crimes and
public safety issues and quickly respond to unplanned neighborhood crime and public
safety concerns. Collectively, these strategies meet unfunded needs and will serve to
improve quality of life by reducing area crime and social disorder while also providing an
opportunity to expand community-police partnerships.
To meet the grant conditions, SMPD provided a 30-day period for public comment on
the proposed use of the funds. The City of Santa Monica met this condition by issuing a
public service announcement from July 14, 2018 - August 13, 2018. The announcement
was posted on the Police Department’s website. No responses were received in
opposition to the use of the JAG Program funds.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to accept a grant from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice
Assistance Grant Program (JAG), which is administered by the U.S. Department of
Justice (DOJ).
FY 2018 - 19 Grant Budget Changes
Establish Revenue Budget Appropriate Funds
Account Number(s) Amount Account Number(s) Amount
20180001.40426A $28,293 20180001.55547A $28,293
20180001.40426B $31,350 20180001.55547B $31,350
Total $59,643 Total $59,643
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If renewals are awarded, budget changes will be included in subsequent year
budgets, contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Nicole Bustamante, Senior Administrative Analyst
Approved
Forwarded to Council