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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Pete Visclosky today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has issued two grants to Northwest Indiana to improve community safety. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana will receive a grant for the University Park/Glen Park Weed and Seed community-based initiative for law enforcement, crime prevention, and community revitalization. The Highland Police Department will receive a grant to reduce and prevent child endangerment and protect the community from sexual predators.
“The hardworking, law-abiding citizens of Northwest Indiana should not have to worry about threats from drug dealers, sexual predators, and other criminals,” said Visclosky. “Providing local law enforcement and other community safety agencies with the resources they need to keep us secure is one of my top priorities, and these grants will help rid our streets of crime and violence.”
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana will receive a grant to continue the University Park/Glen Park Weed and Seed initiative. Officially recognized in 2005, Weed and Seed is a community-based strategy to take an innovative, comprehensive multiagency approach to policing, crime prevention, and neighborhood revitalization. Policing goals for the effort include expanding opportunities for citizen input on police programs and services, reducing criminal activities in and around abandoned buildings, decreasing residents’ fear of retaliation, and eliminating gangs. Crime prevention efforts will focus on promoting positive parenting and offering positive role models for youth, developing a safe haven, and improving healthcare services. Neighborhood revitalization efforts will focus on improving the physical condition of buildings, removing abandoned and vacant structures, building new and improved housing, and enhancing neighborhood aesthetics. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana will utilize a $142,000 grant for these efforts.
The Highland Police Department will receive a grant under the Child Sexual Predator Program, which is aimed at reducing and preventing child endangerment and protecting communities from sexual predators. The program is intended to help locate, arrest, and prosecute sexual predators and exploiters, and enforce state sex offender registration laws. It is also designed to collectively address the problem through strong partnerships between law enforcement, U.S. Attorney Offices and U.S. Marshals, as well as other community partners such as parole and probation offices, social services agencies, and state and local prosecutors. The Highland Police Department will receive a $470,501 grant. |
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