With this solicitation, BJA seeks to support the development and testing of new or innovative approaches to improving community safety and trust that are alternatives to traditional enforcement mechanisms for neighborhoods experiencing high rates of less serious and low level criminal offenses. This model will involve coordination with law enforcement entities to improve public safety and community residents’ perceptions of law enforcement and procedural fairness and legitimacy. This solicitation also supports funding for national training and technical assistance (TTA) to support site-based grants and the field in building capacity and partnerships essential to this work.
BJA’s Reimagining Justice: Testing a New Model of Community Safety Program seeks to build collaborative networks of community-based organizations and institutions as well as local nonlaw enforcement government agencies focused on preventing and responding to increases in less serious/lower-level crimes that impact community safety and health at the neighborhood and local levels. This will be done through the delivery of coordinated programs and services in order to avoid any unnecessary criminal justice system involvement. This approach may include:
• A community-centric approach to case resolution,
• Resolving low-level offenses outside of the traditional legal system while seeking to address the root causes of offenses and creating an innovative framework to address such behavior while preventing future offenses, and
• Fostering a culture of accountability, restoration, and community engagement while providing a tailored solution that addresses the unique circumstances of each case.
Reimaging Justice seeks new community safety models that invest in developing community-led responses to the needs and objectives of community leaders, residents, and other stakeholders through a community engagement process. This approach can include coordination with law enforcement entities, where appropriate, in order to focus on a locality or one or more neighborhoods experiencing a precipitous increase in less serious crime and related issues which impact quality of life in these communities.
Deadline: July 1, 2024
- Category 1: Reimagining Justice Project Sites
- Category 2: Reimagining Justice Training and Technical Assistance
- Category 1:
- Public- and state-controlled institutions of higher education
- Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)
- Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Private institutions of higher education
- Other: Local non-law enforcement government agencies
- Category 2:
- Public- and state-controlled institutions of higher education
- Private institutions of higher education
- Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)
- Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
An applicant may submit more than one application, if each application proposes a different project in response to the solicitation. Also, an entity may be proposed as a subrecipient (subgrantee) in more than one application.