Harrisburg – This week, members of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), took action to approve $80 million in a variety of grants to improve crime reporting, help law enforcement upgrade equipment, support victims of crime and victim service providers, and support county jail-based medication-assisted treatment for individuals with substance use disorder.
"The Commission took a significant step in advancing public safety by approving $80 million in funding to enhance our law enforcement capabilities and provide critical support to victims of crime,” said Mike Pennington, PCCD Executive Director. “The funding approved today will modernize our crime reporting systems to meet national standards, bolster law enforcement equipment and technology, and fund vital services for crime victims across Pennsylvania."
The approved grant funding includes $5.8 million in grant funding to support law enforcement system upgrades which will enable the reporting of crime statistics to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) NIBRS. As of January 1, 2021, NIBRS became the national standard for law enforcement crime data reporting in the United States. The data collected through NIBRS provides the ability to capture details on criminal incidents, including information on victims, known offenders, relationships between victims and offenders, arrestees, and property involved in crimes.
Pennsylvania is well behind other states in the nation in fully utilizing NIBRS, making it challenging to accurately capture statewide and jurisdiction-specific crime trends. While Pennsylvania has made progress increasing NIBRS compliance statewide thanks to recent investments, currently, only 42 percent of Pennsylvania’s population is covered by a police department that is utilizing NIBRS and only 10 percent of local law enforcement agencies are reporting criminal statistics to the FBI through NIBRS.
This funding will allow the 68 approved law enforcement entities to use funding for software, hardware, and labor needed to install NIBRS-compliant record management systems; training on how to collect and submit NIBRS data; and/or technical assistance for personnel responsible for data collection and submission.
“This funding will allow Central Bucks Regional Police Department to upgrade our technology infrastructure to provide greater specificity in reporting statistics through NIBRS compliance,” said Central Bucks Regional Police Chief Karl Knott. “We look forward to the benefit of maximizing our resources through actionable intelligence, more accurate analysis of crime, and data sharing across agencies to increase clearance rates.”
Commission-Approved NIBRS Awards (pending the resolution of any outstanding programmatic or fiscal concerns)
County | Applicant Agency | Amount |
Adams | Franklin City | $ 200,000 |
Allegheny | Allegheny County Chief Executive Officer | $ 200,000 |
Allegheny | Castle Shannon Borough | $ 28,097 |
Allegheny | Harmar Township | $ 50,000 |
Allegheny | Indiana Township | $ 52,367 |
Allegheny | Munhall Borough | $ 44,364 |
Allegheny | Pittsburgh City | $ 200,000 |
Allegheny | Pleasant Hills Borough | $ 24,487 |
Allegheny | Wilkins Township | $ 200,000 |
Beaver | Center Township | $ 128,500 |
Bucks | Bensalem Township | $ 331,976 |
Bucks | Central Bucks Regional Police Department | $ 162,467 |
Bucks | Falls Township | $ 99,105 |
Bucks | Lower Makefield Township | $ 51,573 |
Bucks | Lower Southampton Township | $ 42,714 |
Bucks | Yardley Borough | $ 46,735 |
Cambria | Cambria County Commissioners | $ 37,595 |
Cambria | Ebensburg Borough | $ 40,000 |
Cambria | Stonycreek Township | $ 111,870 |
Chester | East Vincent Township | $ 6,500 |
Chester | West Vincent Township | $ 33,528 |
Clearfield | Curwensville Borough | $ 76,734 |
Clearfield | Lawrence Township | $ 131,442 |
Clinton | Lock Haven City | $ 79,026 |
Columbia | Benton Borough | $ 36,752 |
Columbia | Hemlock Township | $ 36,510 |
Cumberland | Hampden Township | $ 128,801 |
Cumberland | Upper Allen Township | $ 176,300 |
Delaware | Darby Borough | $ 125,216 |
Delaware | Yeadon Borough | $ 35,000 |
Fayette | Fayette County Commissioners | $ 100,500 |
Fayette | Uniontown City | $ 123,600 |
Franklin | Waynesboro Borough | $ 126,963 |
Lackawanna | Archbald Borough | $ 151,840 |
Lackawanna | Blakely Borough | $ 98,464 |
Lackawanna | South Abington Township | $ 174,594 |
Lancaster | Lancaster City | $ 200,000 |
Lancaster | Mount Joy Borough | $ 122,084 |
Luzerne | Avoca Borough | $ 13,345 |
Luzerne | Dallas Borough | $ 23,422 |
Luzerne | Dallas Township | $ 30,300 |
Luzerne | Dupont Borough | $ 13,345 |
Luzerne | Duryea Borough | $ 13,215 |
Luzerne | Hughestown Borough | $ 13,345 |
Luzerne | Jackson Township | $ 24,364 |
Luzerne | Jenkins Township | $ 13,345 |
Luzerne | Kingston Township | $ 44,114 |
Luzerne | Lehman Township | $ 28,058 |
Luzerne | Pittston City | $ 13,215 |
Luzerne | Pittston Township | $ 13,345 |
Luzerne | Wyoming Area Regional Police | $ 13,345 |
Mercer | Farrell City | $ 135,464 |
Mercer | Sharon City | $ 150,292 |
Mercer | Sharpsville Borough | $ 60,368 |
Monroe | East Stroudsburg University | $ 1,347 |
Montgomery | Conshohocken Borough | $ 23,831 |
Montgomery | Pottstown Borough | $ 39,935 |
Northampton | Lehigh Township | $ 175,200 |
Northumberland | Riverside Borough | $ 22,927 |
Schuylkill | Coaldale Borough | $ 69,535 |
Union | Bucknell University | $ 186,943 |
Venango | Oil City | $ 200,000 |
Washington | Charleroi Regional Police Department | $ 100,300 |
Washington | Washington County Commissioners | $ 100,500 |
Westmoreland | Allegheny Township | $ 74,330 |
Westmoreland | Murrysville Municipality | $ 37,595 |
Westmoreland | North Belle Vernon Borough | $ 89,550 |
York | York City | $ 125,000 |
The Commission also approved $60 million in federal grant funding for victim service providers for the provision of services to Pennsylvanians who are victims of crime. Federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding serves as the backbone of financial support for nearly all of the victim service provider organizations in the Commonwealth and throughout the nation.
Approved funding will advance new research focused on counties’ implementation of Act 79 of 2018 (which established protections for domestic violence survivors related to weapons relinquishment), continue supporting a statewide program that provides support for local communities and victims impacted by traumatic events, and enhance a multidisciplinary approach by the justice systems in its response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence.
Other approved funding from Commission meeting includes:
- $3 million for law enforcement agencies to support their equipment and technology needs to assist them in reducing crime and improving clearance rates;
- Nearly $7 million in Federal Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) funding to support a wide variety of projects throughout the state, including public defense, offender reentry, prevention programming, and treatment courts; and
- $3.7 million to support county jail-based medication-assisted treatment for individuals with substance use disorder.
More information about the actions approved at the Commission meeting are available on PCCD’s website.