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Gov. Mike DeWine Friday announced that he is awarding $20 million in grants to support more than three dozen community-based intervention programs in their work to prevent violence and support crime victims, including the Salem Police Department for crisis response.
The Salem Police Department will receive $168,742.99, one of three crisis response programs receiving a total of $2,153,304.36 to house civilian-based crisis response teams that support individuals undergoing behavioral crises.
A total of 39 programs will receive funding as part of DeWine's Community Violence Prevention Grant Program. The grants support collaborative approaches by non-profit entities and governmental agencies that partner to reduce community violence.
"This program is the latest step in our holistic approach toward enhanced public safety in Ohio," said DeWine. "From giving our law enforcement officers new tools to fight crime to strengthening community-based initiatives that prevent future violence, we're striving to ensure that our communities have the resources they need to protect and support the public."
Funded projects encompass five broad categories of assistance including community-based violence intervention programs, trauma recovery centers, children's advocacy centers, crisis response programs, and hospital-based violence intervention programs.
The Community Violence Prevention Grant Program is funded as part of the $250 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly dedicated to counter various pressing issues exacerbated by the pandemic, including increased crime rates. The program is administered by the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
The program is one of several new programs developed by DeWine as part of his administration's comprehensive approach toward protecting the public and preventing violence. Other initiatives include the Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center, Ohio School Safety Center, Ohio Office of Law Enforcement Recruitment, Ohio Office of First Responder Wellness, Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program, Ohio Prisoner Extradition Reimbursement Program, Ohio Body-Worn Camera Program, Ohio Ballistics Testing Initiative, Ohio Crime Lab Efficiency Program, Ohio First Responder Recruitment, Retention, and Resilience Program, Ohio Court Backlog Reduction Program, Community Violence Prevention Grant Program, and the new eWarrant database.