McNeill: State investing more than $115K in criminal justice initiatives

HARRISBURG, Dec. 8 -- State Rep. Jeanne McNeill, D-Lehigh, today announced that criminal justice initiatives in Salisbury and Whitehall townships will benefit from $117,908 in federal Byrne Justice Assistance Grant funding awarded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. The Edward Byrne Memorial JAG Program is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to states and units of local government.

“Securing these resources for our local communities is extremely important because it enables the strengthening of public safety and criminal justice initiatives,” McNeill said. “I’m pleased that the PCCD has prioritized Salisbury and Whitehall townships with today’s funding announcement. These dollars will provide opportunity to evaluate current procedures and operating objectives while aiding in raising the level of police professionalism.”

According to McNeill, Salisbury Township received $57,908 in funding to add a part time position to assist with accreditation activities that will allow for continued growth and professionalism within the department. This project will focus primarily on achieving accreditation, including policy and procedure standards in accordance with PA Chiefs of Police Accreditation process. Funds will support personnel costs for a new part time office staff position.

McNeill said the remaining $60,000 was allotted to the Whitehall Township Police Department to complete the accreditation process through the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association’s Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission. The goals of this project are to establish standards containing a clear statement of professional objectives for the department and its employees, determine how existing operations can be adapted to meet these standards, enact new procedures and operations as needed, establish frameworks for evaluating agency practices and procedures to ensure that applicable standards are successfully achieved, and reduce agency risks and exposure to lawsuits, thereby lowering liability insurance expenditures.

More information about PCCD is available here.