Sept. 12, 2007 — The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded four grants to various agencies and organizations in the Virgin Islands totaling $467,671.
The first of these grants is for the Women’s Coalition of St. Croix in the amount of $166,090, according to a news release from the office of Delegate Donna M. Christensen. This grant will be used for the Grants to State Assault and Domestic Violence Coalitions Program through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2000.
"The territorial coalition works on many levels to address violence against women while also serving as a resource to their various state agencies and local programs," the release said. "Activities include technical assistance to member agencies, conducting territory wide and/or community-based meetings and workshops and bringing local programs together to identify gaps in services."
The second grant is for the V.I. Law Enforcement Planning Commission in the amount of $150,000 for the 2007 National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP).
"The goal of this program is to improve the nation’s safety and security by enhancing the quality, completeness and accessibility of criminal history record information and by insuring the nationwide implementation of criminal justice and non-criminal justice background check systems," the release said.
The third grant is for the V.I. Bureau of Corrections in the amount of $96,594 for the Paul Coverdell National Forensic Sciences Improvement Act Formula Grant Program. These funds are used to improve the quality and timeliness of forensic science and medical examiner services and/or to eliminate backlogs in the analysis of forensic evidence, including controlled substances, firearms examination, forensic pathology, latent prints, questioned documents, toxicology and trace evidence.
The final grant is for the St. Thomas/St. John Chamber of Commerce in the amount of $54,987 for the fiscal year 2007 Anti-Gang Initiative.
"This initiative provides funds to support new or expanded anti-gang enforcement and prevention efforts under the existing Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Initiative," the release said. "New funds may then be used by the PSN task force to combat gangs by leveraging current strategies and partnerships developed under PSN initiatives or may be used to develop new anti-gang initiatives."
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