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Redesignates existing paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as paragraphs (2), (4), and (5), respectively; inserts a new paragraph (1) defining 'crime analyst' and a new paragraph (3) defining 'law enforcement assistant'.
Amends subsection (b) by adding three new purpose areas as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7) to authorize use of Program funds for hiring crime analysts; overtime costs for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and law enforcement assistants; and purchasing, implementing, and using technology to assist with violent crime reduction efforts.
Strikes the phrase 'fiscal years 2019 through 2021' from the authorization of appropriations provision (no replacement text shown in the provided amendment).
Updates the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) grant program to clarify definitions, expand allowable uses of grant funds, and add an annual reporting requirement for the Attorney General. The bill defines new roles ("crime analyst" and "law enforcement assistant"), authorizes use of grant funds to hire analysts, pay overtime for certain personnel, purchase technology aimed at reducing violent crime, and support multi-jurisdictional task forces. The measure also changes authorization language (removing specific fiscal‑year wording), adds a short title for task force support, and requires the Attorney General to report annually to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on grant spending, community outreach, and local violent crime data (murder, non‑negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault).
The Project Safe Neighborhoods program was launched in 2001 and brings together Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community leaders, and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing crime problems in a community and work collaboratively to address those problems.
The Project Safe Neighborhoods program operates in all 94 Federal judicial districts throughout the 50 States and territories of the United States.
The Project Safe Neighborhoods program implements four key components to reduce violent crime in communities: community engagement; prevention and intervention; focused and strategic enforcement; and accountability.
Redesignate paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of Section 2 of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program Authorization Act of 2018 as paragraphs (2), (4), and (5), respectively.
Add a new paragraph defining “crime analyst” as an individual employed by a law enforcement agency to separate information into key components and help plan actions to understand, mitigate, and neutralize criminal threats.
Who is affected and how:
Local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors: Gain clearer authority to use PSN grant funds for hiring crime analysts, paying overtime for covered personnel, buying crime‑reduction technology, and participating in multi‑jurisdictional task forces. This expands operational options and could improve investigative and enforcement capacity.
Federal and state partners (including DOJ and U.S. Attorneys): Benefit from improved local analytic capacity and better‑supported joint task forces; DOJ will also incur administrative work to collect and deliver the new annual reports.
Tribal governments and Tribal law enforcement: Explicit support for multi‑jurisdictional task forces and expanded allowable uses can help integrate Tribal partners into coordinated violent‑crime reduction efforts and fund analyst or technology positions.
Communities affected by violent crime: May see enhanced enforcement, targeted interventions, and prevention activities driven by better data and coordination; community outreach must be reported, which could increase visibility of community engagement efforts.
Grant recipients and local budgets: Some jurisdictions may need to reallocate staffing or grant‑administration resources to hire analysts, manage overtime rules, purchase technology, and comply with reporting requirements. Small or resource‑constrained agencies could face challenges using new authorities without additional grant funding.
Oversight and transparency: The annual DOJ reports create a formalized accountability mechanism showing how funds are spent and what outreach occurred, plus a listing of violent crimes by area; this increases transparency but also raises expectations for data quality and consistency.
Potential tradeoffs and considerations:
Capacity vs. resources: While new permitted uses expand operational tools, they do not by themselves provide new funding levels in the summary; some jurisdictions may need additional funds to take advantage of the changes.
Privacy and community relations: Expanded use of technology and increased enforcement activity may raise questions about privacy, civil liberties, and community trust; required reporting on community outreach is intended to make engagement visible but may not fully address these concerns.
Administrative burden: Collecting standardized crime descriptions and detailed spending reports across all PSN areas will require DOJ and local partners to coordinate data collection and may increase administrative costs.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced April 3, 2025 by John Cornyn · Last progress April 3, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate