Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants provide support to state and local governments for a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime and to improve the criminal justice system.
Each year, CJD awards more than $113 million in grants for a variety of juvenile justice, criminal justice and victim services programs.
The awards include:
- $1,601,799 to Webb County to provide a special anti-violence unit in the Webb and Zapata County Sheriffs' Offices that will investigate major crimes, including murder, kidnapping, extortion, and human and drug trafficking in an effort to address spillover violence from feuding Mexican cartels and their connections with drug trafficking organizations and gangs in Texas.
- $1,378,756 to Texas State University - San Marcos to provide an Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training program to law enforcement officers statewide. The training will focus on effective team-based response techniques when confronted with violent situations, including de-escalation techniques and use of appropriate force.
- $1,000,000 to Tarrant County to provide a special organized crime unit that will team law enforcement professionals from local law enforcement agencies with the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office in order to effectively monitor, investigate, prosecute and seize criminal assets from the most violent drug distributors, traffickers and criminal organizations operating throughout the area.
- $574,392 to Starr County to provide a special violent crimes unit that teams personnel from area law enforcement agencies with the Starr County District Attorney's Office in an effort to conduct criminal investigations and prosecute offenders in cases involving violent crime, to effectively disrupt border-area criminal activity and drug trafficking organizations.
- $566,344 to Cameron County to establish a special operations unit that will investigate major crimes including prison gang violence, homicides, assaults, human smuggling, child pornography, embezzlement, money laundering, terrorism and drug trafficking under the direction of the Cameron County District Attorney's Office and in coordination with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
- $378,763 to Duval County to provide a special criminal investigation unit that will investigate violent crimes committed in Duval, Bee and McMullen counties and work in cooperation with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to disrupt criminal organizations engaged in smuggling operations, gang activities and money laundering in the South Texas region.
- $222,458 to Caldwell County to provide a special crimes unit composed of local law enforcement officers from the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office, the Lockhart Police Department and the Luling Police Department dedicated to investigating violent crimes.
- $150,239 to Lampasas County to establish a major crimes unit in the Lampasas County Sheriff's Office that will support local law enforcement agencies in the investigation of violent and organized crime including homicide, aggravated assault, armed robbery, drug trafficking and burglary.
- $40,259 to Webb County to purchase surveillance equipment for use by officers in the City of Laredo and Webb County while conducting investigations.
- $39,969 to the City of Haskell Police Department to purchase a law enforcement vehicle for the Haskell County Police Department that is equipped with accessories to accommodate a canine and its handler.
- $16,500 to the City of Progreso to purchase a patrol vehicle for the City of Progreso's Police Department, which will be used for traffic control and local investigations.
