PUBLIC NOTICE - Fiscal Year 2025 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program
The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program (42 U.S.C. 3751(a)) is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. The JAG Program provides states and units of local governments with critical funding necessary to support a range of program areas. JAG funds may be used for local initiatives such as additional personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, training, technical assistance and information systems for criminal justice, including any one or more of the following:
- Law enforcement programs.
- Prosecution and court programs
- Prevention and education programs.
- Corrections and community corrections programs.
- Drug treatment and enforcement programs.
- Planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs.
- Crime victim and witness programs (other than compensation).
- Mental health programs and related law enforcement and corrections programs.
The Department of Justice requires that the applicant agency accepts certain Certifications and Assurances. These Certifications and Assurances include, but are not limited to the following three items which are summarized as follows: 1) JAG funds may not be used to supplant state or local funds but must be used to increase the amounts of such funds, that would, in the absence of federal funds, be made available for law enforcement activities; 2) The application must be made available for review by the governing body; and, 3) The application must be made public and an opportunity to comment on the application provided to citizens. In addition, the City is required to certify that it complies with prohibitions on certain actions regarding information regarding citizenship and immigration status and complies with 8 U.S.C. §§ 1373 & 1644.
As such, the purpose of this public notice is to make information regarding the City of Miami Beach’s Fiscal Year 2025 JAG application available to the public.
Please submit Comments regarding the use of this grant to:
allisonnovack@miamibeachfl.gov.
The City of Miami Beach is proposing to use the $74,425 JAG funds to purchase protective equipment designed to optimize the safety of officers who are facing the most dangerous situations. The equipment will include five (5) ballistic protective shields ($34,425), essential to respond to high-risk, in progress incidents, and forty (40) tactical medical kits ($40,000), essential for first responders to treat severe, life-threatening injuries, including gunshot or stabbing wounds. Obtaining this equipment is the first phase of a much necessary initiative to eventually, with additional funding obtained overtime, equip all first responding officers and specialized units. These two pieces of equipment, with their proposed applications, are aligned with authorized usage of JAG award.
The project will be implemented as follows:
- Phase 1 – Equipment and Vendor Identification (Month 1 to 12): Research ballistic shields and trauma medical kits to develop necessary specifications and complete the procurement process, according to City and federal procurement guidelines, to select a vendor.
- Phase 2 – Equipment Acquisition (Month 13 to 18): Purchase and receive the equipment.
- Phase 3 – Training, Deployment, and Evaluation (Month 19 to 36): Since the Department is purchasing two different pieces of protective equipment, this phase of the project will differ for each. For the ballistic shieds, the supervisor for the Deparment’s Rapid Internvetion Team (RIT) will identify five (5) officers to receive specialized training and be issued the purchased shields. These officers will go through an in-house certification/training session developed by the Department’s Training Unit (TU) to ensure optimal usage of the equipment as well as usage consistent with departmental policies. For the trauma medical kits, the Department’s Training Unit (TU) will develop a curriculum and train two (2) cohorts of twenty (20) officers. Once trained, a trauma medical kit will be assigned to each officer. For both pieces of equipment, data will be tracked, including number of times used, characteristics surrounding the the utilization, and outcomes. It will therefore help the department understand the effectiveness of the equipment in protecting officers, something useful to then identify internal or external sources of funding to purchase additional shields and kits for other responding officers or specialized units.
The ability to purchase and deploy such equipment is a game-changer for the Miami Beach Police Department and by extensions, for City of Miami Beach residents and visitors who will be better protected against violent crimes.
