Congressman Barney Frank
Representing Massachusetts' 4th District

Congressman Barney Frank Announces Local Crime Prevention Funding
March 6, 2009

Congressman Barney Frank today announced that New Bedford, Fall River, and other communities in the Fourth Congressional District are in line to receive federal grant monies for crime prevention and for the criminal justice system, under the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the stimulus bill. The funds are expected to be used primarily for hiring or retention of police officers.

New Bedford is slated to receive $588,345 and Fall River has been allocated $606,943. These numbers represent over a ten-fold increase from 2008 funding levels for local criminal justice grants.

Frank was a strong supporter of the Recovery Act, often referred to as the economic stimulus bill, which passed the House of Representatives over the objections of House Republicans.

“People in Fall River, New Bedford and other municipalities are rightly concerned about crime,” said Congressman Frank, “and this money will help make our streets safer by helping cities and towns cope with budget cutbacks. The money not only serves an important social good, but it helps get our economy back on its feet.”

“I am pleased to learn that Fall River is eligible to receive over $606,000, over a four-year period from the Department of Justice’s Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, to help prevent and control crime in our community,” Mayor Correia stated. “Every little penny counts during these tight fiscal times and this money will give us some relief. This money may allow us to return two police officers to the force when we receive the funds.”

“Over the past 3 years New Bedford has made tremendous strides in providing enhanced public safety services. These federal dollars to restore police personnel back into the neighborhoods of New Bedford are critical for the safety of the residents of our city. The most basic service that local government provides is public safety by way of police, fire, and ambulance service. Economic development is not possible without stability in these public safety departments. I appreciate the work that Congressman Frank and our senators do every day for New Bedford.”

The cities must go through a formal process to receive the funds, and final figures may vary slightly from the totals announced today. The funds are allocated by the U.S. Department of Justice under the Edward Byrne Justice Assistant Grant program (JAG), named for a New York City police officer who was killed in the line of duty in 1988.

The list of municipalities in the Fourth Congressional District that are slated to receive funds is attached below.

FOURTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT RECIPIENTS

ACUSHNET Township $14,127
BROOKLINE Township $96,388
DARTMOUTH Township $57,404
FAIRHAVEN Township $39,163
FALL RIVER Municipal $606,943
FOXBOROUGH Township $24,321
FREETOWN Township $14,485
MANSFIELD Township $23,427
MIDDLEBOROUGH Township $33,083
NEW BEDFORD Municipal $588,345
NEWTON Municipal $59,907
RAYNHAM Township $22,890
TAUNTON Municipal $160,767
WAREHAM Township $121,603
WELLESLEY Township $10,730
WESTPORT Township $19,492