Justice Department awards more than $16 million to support criminal justice initiatives in Western District of New York

Information provided by Barbara Burns

Public Affairs Officer

United States Attorney's Office, Western District of New York

U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced the Justice Department has awarded grant funding to 26 municipalities, school districts and human service organizations totaling $16,440,491 to support criminal justice initiatives across the Western District of New York.

“Agencies in the Western District of New York have been granted a total of $16,440,491, including school districts, police departments, social service agencies, and local governments across the 17 counties in the district,” Ross said. “This funding will address several issues impacting our communities, including gun violence, domestic violence, sexual assaults, and the mental health needs of children. Of significant importance, more than $7,000,000 will be spent on addressing the needs of victims of crimes, including $3,889,303 which will be used to provide services to those directly impacted by the Tops mass shooting tragedy that resulted in the deaths of 10 members of our community.”

Grants have been awarded to address the following areas (local awards shown):

Victims Services

•The Community Health Center of Buffalo has been awarded $3,889,303 to provide services to those impacted by the mass shooting on May 14, 2022, in Buffalo.

•The Family Justice Center of Erie County was awarded $450,000 to continue improving the organization’s response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

•Niagara University has been awarded $400,000 to collaborate with the YWCA of the Niagara Frontier, Pinnacle Community Services, the Seven Dancers Coalition, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, and the New York State Police in combatting domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus.

•D’Youville College was awarded $399,728 to collaborate with Suicide Prevention & Crisis Services Inc., and the New York State Police to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus.

Law Enforcement Initiatives

•Niagara County has been awarded $500,000 to address the backlog of cases in the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office forensic laboratory. Since 2017, the toxicology – postmortem caseload has increased 45%, and the firearms caseload has increased 126%.

•The City of Buffalo was awarded $284,913, which will be used to support additional police patrols at select large-scale events to protect attendees from terroristic threats and/or gun violence. The funds will also be used by Erie County to support an assistant district attorney for juvenile justice prosecution, the Town of Amherst to purchase technology upgrades for police vehicles, and the Town of Cheektowaga to provide extra police patrols in hot spot areas to reduce crime.

•The City of Niagara Falls has been awarded $38,562, which will be used to continue to support two part-time police liaisons to enhance communication between the community and the police, and to replace outdated handheld radios.