Grant Cuts Could Bite Deep
The US Congress has agreed an Omnibus Appropriations Bill that sharply reduces (from $520m to $170m) money available for Byrne JAG Grants. These grants are a primary financial contributor to many local and regional law enforcement and corrections’ operations, especially for drug task forces and the like. The case of Helena MT will be typical.
Last year, Montana received about $1.2 million from the program, of which 90 to 95 percent went to the seven drug task forces in the state … The Missouri River Drug Task Force serves Helena, Lewis and Clark County and other surrounding communities. The task force, mainly funded by federal grant money, faces a cut of 67 percent for the next year, as do the rest of the nation’s multijurisdictional drug task forces. Task force detectives were instrumental in solving the last five homicides in Helena, all of which were drug-related. They used networks of informants to gather incriminating information on the murders. Investigators say they also spend many hours a week on assaults, burglaries and other drug-related crimes.
The full article from the Helena Independent Record has a lot more information.