City Asks for Public Comments on Application

The City of Santa Clarita will be submitting a grant application for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant offered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, in the amount of $35,545, and is inviting public comments on the proposal.

The City and the Sheriff’s Department are committed to improving community safety, and recognize the need for proactive law enforcement and community policing.  These grant funds will augment the resources already provided by the City to ensure community safety.

Programs being proposed for funding include: curfew sweeps; graffiti enforcement; truancy sweeps; bike patrols; surveillance, undercover and sting operations; and probation/parole enforcement. 

[view:node_ad=5]Resources will also be used to address some of the Attorney General’s priorities, including gang enforcement and prevention, multi-jurisdictional task forces addressing violent crimes and drugs, and school safety. 

This grant will fund approximately 475 overtime hours for the Sheriff’s Community Interaction Team (CIT).  This would allow CIT to conduct the proposed operations over and above their normal duties, and augment community policing and law enforcement efforts in the City.

CIT is a specialized unit that responds to pressing community issues, help strengthen neighborhoods, and address quality-of-life issues. Through its active collaboration with different units of the Station and with other agencies, CIT has been very successful in helping keep the crime rate down. 

The grant proposal is also available for viewing online at www.santa-clarita.com.

To obtain a copy of the grant proposal or to comment on the application before June 20, 2007, please contact City Community Services Analyst, Tess Simgen at (661) 255-4956 or by e-mail at tsimgen@santa-clarita.com.