Police fear effect of fed grant cuts

$600K grant pays for special program, patrol
2-4-2008 Florida:

Brevard County law enforcement agencies use nearly $600,000 from a federal grant to purchase new equipment, pay overtime for special patrols and fund a transport program that keeps officers patrolling neighborhoods.

But local authorities likely will see only a fraction of that money next year after funding was slashed for the often-used federal grant.

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program received about $168 million in the federal budget for fiscal year 2008 approved in late December -- only about one-third of the $519 million allocated in fiscal year 2007.

"It's almost unprecedented," said David Steingraber, president of the National Criminal Justice Association, a group supporting increased funding for the grant.

"You can't cut a program by two-thirds and expect it to continue at the same level."

Six agencies in Brevard County received $317,214 in Byrne JAG funding for fiscal year 2007 directly from the Department of Justice.

Dollars for fiscal year 2008's grant have not yet been awarded, so it's not clear how much agencies might receive.

Brevard County Sheriff's Office also received $262,901 from the $18.1 million allocated to Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

That money, plus $114,345 from the Department of Justice, funds vans that transport those arrested from police departments and sheriff's precincts to the county jail in Sharpes, sheriff's office budget manager Greg Pelham said.

The program, which is open to all local police departments, is designed to keep officers and deputies patrolling neighborhoods instead of driving to and from the jail, he said. That saves almost two hours for an officer or deputy coming from the southern end of the county.

To cope with the anticipated funding cut, Pelham said cities might be asked to pick up the tab or program officials could seek more money from the county.

With the passage of the property tax amendment making financial situations even tighter, "those two items are very unlikely," he said.

What's more likely to happen is a reduction in personnel and in operating hours for the program.

For other local agencies, the dollars pay for new equipment or fund additional patrols targeting anything from traffic to mid- and upper-level drug dealers.

Titusville police use the $36,130 to fund overtime for traffic enforcement as well as its career criminal and sex offender follow-up program, where officers make stops at offenders' homes to ensure they are living where they are registered and are following curfews.

"With the budget and tax reforms, it's been a lifesaver to get these initiatives done," Titusville Police Department administrative manager JoAnn Couey said.

With fewer dollars, the department will likely try to refine the programs to do the same work with less funding, she said.

In recent years, Palm Bay Police has used Byrne JAG money to purchase equipment such as Tasers, digital cameras and computers, the department's executive assistant Lynne Nungessern said. It also paid to equip a meeting room with the technology needed for its Coordinated Plan Response, a program that sends officers to patrol areas of the city based on crime statistics.

Its most recent grant of $51,118 was split between purchasing automated ticket writers and funding undercover operations combating drug sales.

Byrne JAG allows the department to keep up with ever-changing technology, Nungesser said. Fewer grant dollars means it may take longer to add new technology.

"It certainly has impact on the rate with which we improve our technology and safety equipment," she said.

While the grant accounts for less than 2 percent of the amount states and local governments spend on law enforcement, the money allows departments to fund new programs that prove to be invaluable, Steingraber said.

"It's the one place people can turn to try something new," he said.

For example, FDLE used Byrne JAG funding as seed money for Florida's Computer Crime Center, which targets everything from child solicitations and child pornography to fraud, banking scams and computer hacking. Lawmakers continued the funding after it became an established resource, FDLE director of external affairs Heather Smith said.

But FDLE is anticipating a
67 percent drop in its grant, which funds nearly 200 major programs in the state.

The agency will have to look for other possible grant sources, find creative solutions to provide the same services with less money or run them at lower levels.

"It's going to impair some of the public safety programs that are in place," Smith said. ..more.. by Cervenka at 360-1018 or scervenka@floridatoday.com.