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-Press Release, U.S. Department of Justice
The Department of Justice announced awards of more than $165 million to support public safety efforts in the state of North Carolina. The funding from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), and Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) will support violent crime reduction, opioid/substance abuse reduction efforts, school safety, victim services, transitional housing for domestic violence victims, law enforcement activities, mental health, and juvenile justice.
“The Department of Justice is very pleased to provide these critical public safety resources not only to local law enforcement agencies throughout North Carolina, but also to state-level agencies for the benefit of all North Carolinians,” said Director Phil Keith. “This funding will secure schools and protect kids from crime and violence across the state, and help to combat the scourge of deadly drugs running rampant in our communities.”
“Helping to protect North Carolinians—and all Americans—is job number one for the Department of Justice and the Office of Justice Programs,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “I’m proud to make these resources available to the brave crime-fighters, compassionate service providers and dedicated criminal and juvenile justice professionals who work so hard, day in and day out, to safeguard the communities of this great state.”
COPS Office Director Phil Keith made the announcement in Raleigh on Friday morning along with Governor Roy Cooper, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Robert J. Higdon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina Matthew G.T. Martin and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) Director Bob Schurmeier.
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety received approximately $2.9 million from the COPS Office for investigating illicit activities related to heroin distribution and methamphetamine trafficking, and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) was the only state-level agency to receive funding to improve school security through the 2019 COPS School Violence Prevention Program.
Additional school safety funding was provided to both the North Carolina SBI and DPI through OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance for behavioral threat assessments and the enhancement of the North Carolina State School Safety Center.
“North Carolina law enforcement will be better able to keep our communities safe and stop drug traffickers with this vital funding,” said Governor Roy Cooper. “Federal support for local expertise is the right way to fight the opioid epidemic and to protect our schools. These grants will go a long way in making sure North Carolinians live in safe communities.”
“Supporting law enforcement at every level and all across the State of North Carolina goes to the heart of the mission of the U.S. Department of Justice,” said Mr. Higdon. And these grants provide much needed resources and funding to law enforcement agencies as they work to protect our communities from violence, drug trafficking and any others who threaten our safety and security.”
“The grants announced today by the U.S. Department of Justice represent a significant investment in support of law enforcement and public safety in North Carolina,” said U.S. Attorney Matt Martin. “We are particularly pleased that grants in the Middle District will support school safety programs, the fight against opioid addiction, and the coordinated efforts under way to reduce gun violence from Durham to Winston-Salem and Rockingham County to Cabarrus County. These are critical priorities of all three U.S. Attorneys; to borrow an apt adage: we are putting our money where our mouth is.”
“These grants will allow SBI agents across North Carolina to more effectively partner with our police departments and sheriff’s offices to continue the fight against the opioid epidemic,” said SBI Director Bob Schurmeier. “Families in our state have suffered enormous pain and loss, and we grieve with them. We will use these resources to go after the cartels, traffickers and dealers and bring them to justice. We are grateful to the COPS Office and the US Department of Justice for their support of North Carolina and the State Bureau of Investigation.”
A full list of COPS awards is available online at https://cops.usdoj.gov/grants. OJP awards, organized under specific grant programs, are available online at https://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/OJPAwardData.htm.
For OVW awards, visit https://www.justice.gov/ovw/awards.
News releases are available on the U.S. Attorney’s webpage located at https://justice.gov/usao-ednc. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_EDNC
