Fiscal Note
This accounting for this grant will be in a special revenue fund (SG50). There is no effect on the expenditure restraint program or the levy.
Title
Authorizing the Mayor, City Clerk and Chief of Police to accept a Project Safe Neighborhoods award from the State of Wisconsin, Office of Justice Assistance in the amount of $40,000 and to utilize these funds toward anti-gang prevention and enforcement efforts.
Body
WHEREAS, the U.S. Dept. of Justice has developed a nationwide Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative to reduce the incidents of gun violence, by linking together federal, state, and local law enforcement, prosecutors, and community leaders, to provide a multifaceted approach to deterring and punishing gun crime; and,
WHEREAS, the PSN initiative has been expanded to include anti-gang prevention and enforcement efforts; and,
WHEREAS, this ongoing effort will allow local law enforcement to combat gangs by building on the effective strategies and partnerships developed under PSN; and,
WHEREAS, the Dane County Youth Gang Prevention Task Force Community Response Plan has outlined information regarding how Dane County has moved into the ranks of communities with full fledged generational gangs that have an active entrepreneurial drug trade resulting in a number of violent gang-related acts such as shootings, graffiti and rival group conflicts; and,
WHEREAS, although this is a long-term problem that must be dealt with using a variety of methods, the Madison Police Department has pledged to proactively respond to emerging illegal gang related activity through education, information sharing, and enforcement; and,
WHEREAS, in the past four years the Madison Police Department was awarded PSN grants totaling $311,726; and,
WHEREAS, the Madison Police Department has been awarded a 2009 PSN grant in the amount of $40,000 for the purposes of continuing efforts to reduce gang-related violence; and,
WHEREAS, the PSN grant will allow police to accomplish these tasks utilizing the basic strategies of prevention, intervention and suppression; and,
WHEREAS, funds would be utilized to provide additional patrols in challenged neighborhoods and areas that see increased levels of gang activity and associated violence; and,
WHEREAS, these same funds would provide opportunities for officers to continue the outreach and educational campaign aimed at youth and the general community; and,
WHEREAS, a community-based initiative known as DART (Developing Alternatives to Re-Direct Teens), formed with a mission of providing support services to juveniles currently in gangs, as well as those youth being recruited into gangs, will be utilized in the intervention process; and,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Madison, through the Madison Police Department (MPD), is authorized to accept a Project Safe Neighborhoods award from the State of Wisconsin, Office of Justice Assistance in the amount of $40,000.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and Common Council authorizes the expenditure of grant funds in accordance with the grant application, with modifications upon appropriate approvals from the Office of Justice Assistance, as follows:
1) Overtime and benefits associated with increased enforcement efforts and additional crime analysis related to gang activity in the amount of $21,500. (SG50-51300-712000 = $19,975; SG50-52000-712000 = $1,525)
2) Funding for the community-based initiative known as DART (Developing Alternatives to Re-Direct Teens) in the amount of $5,000. (SG50-54901-712000)
3) Funding for Neighborhood Police Officers to support programs that bring positive change in challenged neighborhoods in the amount of $6,000. (SG50-55510-712000)
4) Funding for a youth court, an alternative peer review program for at-risk youth, in the amount of $5,000. (SG50-54901-712000)
5) Funding for educational materials for at-risk latino youth in the amount of $1,000. (SG50-55510-712000)
6) Funding for website development that will allow for the dissemination of gang information in the amount $1,500. (SG50-54901-712000).
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Comptroller and the Madison Police Department are authorized to establish and/or maintain accounts as required for the administration of the grant funds; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Comptroller and the Madison Police Department are authorized to enter into agreements and/or contracts as needed for the programs listed above.