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this is part of the budget from Ma.gov
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Date Posted: 21:04:09 01/24/09 Sat
Public Safety
The Patrick-Murray Administration views public safety as a cornerstone of economic growth and opportunity. Safe streets and communities are an essential part of a positive climate for raising a family, pursuing a career or growing a business in Massachusetts. Similarly, we all have a moral and economic obligation to give young people positive and productive alternatives to drugs and gangs.
Taking office at a time of increased incidents of violent crime throughout the Commonwealth, the Administration made public safety a top priority in 2007. In April, it established the Governor's Anti-Crime Council, a panel of key public safety, human services and community and government leaders convened to develop comprehensive proposals for preventing and fighting crime and violence - focusing in particular on the issues of gun and gang violence. The Administration funded new officers on the beat and Shannon Grants, summer jobs and volunteer programs to give at-risk young people alternatives to drugs and gangs. It also filed a legislative package of anti-crime measures to shrink the supply of illegal guns, mandate post-release supervision and re-entry support for all inmates and share information among government agencies to assist at-risk youth.
The Administration's fiscal year 2009 budget builds on this record of vigilant crime prevention and law enforcement efforts to make our communities even safer places in which to live and work.
The budget increases funding for new Municipal Police Grants by $4 million, bringing funding for the program to $8 million. This funding reflects the Administration's continuing commitment to putting additional police officers on the beat to make our neighborhoods and communities safer and more secure.
The budget provides an additional $4 million for Shannon Grants, bringing funding for the program to its highest level ever ($15 million). This is also the first time that funding for Shannon Grants has been included in the base budget. This funding will enable the program to distribute additional grants to communities to address gang-related crime through outreach to at-risk youth, job skills workshops, reentry programs and other crime prevention strategies.
The budget includes a $5 million increase for Youth Violence Prevention grants administered by the Department of Public Health in consultation with the Executive Office of Public Safety and the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. This funding increase will support services for as many as 7,660 additional young people. It also includes a $2.5 million increase for the summer jobs program under the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, which will make summer job grants available to more than 20 communities in the state that suffer from high incidences of juvenile delinquency.
The budget provides a total of $4 million in increased funding for the Chief Medical Examiner's Office ($2.3 million) and the State Police Crime Lab ($1.7 million) to implement the recommendations of the Vance Reports. This will help reduce a backlog in DNA testing at the Crime Lab and improve operations at the Chief Medical Examiner's Office.
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