09.17.14

Hoeven Announces Nearly $850K in DOJ Funds to Prevent Crimes, Violence Against Children

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has awarded two grants totaling nearly $850,000 to the city of Grand Forks and the North Dakota Office of the Attorney General (AG) Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). The details of the awards are as follows:

  • City of Grand Forks – $612,260 – This award supports the city’s “Safer Tomorrow Project,” a collaborative project designed to prevent childhood exposure to violence, reduce the harmful impacts of exposure when it occurs and raise public awareness. The funds are made available through DOJ’s State and Community Development Awards program.
  • North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation – $237,391 – This award will support regional computer forensics investigations to protect children from internet crimes as well as home compliance visits for sex offenders. The funds are made available through DOJ’s Internet Crimes against Children Task Force program.

“Our law enforcement officials and community service providers serve a vital role in protecting our children, both by working to prevent offenses, through education and proactive investigations, and by caring for those children who are victims of violence,” Hoeven said. “We are working to ensure that these organizations have the tools and resources they need to continue their important work, and these funds will continue such efforts in Grand Forks and across our state.” 

Earlier this month, Senator Hoeven led a roundtable with western North Dakota law enforcement officials and North Dakota AG Wayne Stenehjem to address the changing law enforcement needs in the Bakken Region. During that meeting, Hoeven and Stenehjem highlighted a letter they sent that week to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requesting that the agencies increase the number of agents and permanently staff offices in western North Dakota. The letter can be found here.

In June, the Senate Appropriations Committee, of which Hoeven is a member, passed the Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) Appropriations bill, which directs the DOJ to create plans to support law enforcement in the Bakken.