JAG Formula Program: Local Solicitation

Award Description: The ARRA Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) provided funds to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime and to improve the criminal justice system. The activities include, but are not limited to, the purchase of equipment, supplies, training, the retention of 3 Pretrial Investigators and 1 Pretrial Manager, 1 Hamilton County Records Supervisor, 1 Classification Specialist, 2 Deputies, and the retention of 27 Cincinnati Police Officer positions that would have been eliminated without the JAG ARRA funding.

Description of Jobs Created: A total of 21.08 FTEs have been retained in the second quarter of 2010. The retained FTEs are Neighborhood Liaison Officers (14.44 FTE) that work within the City of Cincinnati. The start date of the activity funded by the grant was September 6th. The grant saved 27 officers jobs. For Hamilton County three Pretrial Investigators and one Pretrial Manager (2.67 FTE) have been retained for the Department of Pretrial and Community Transition Services. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office retained two Deputies (1.97 FTE) and one Records Supervisor and a Classification Specialist (2 FTE). The retained Cincinnati Police Officers remain the primary citizen contact for community-oriented policing. Neighborhood officers share information on crime and disorder in the community, solicit input from the community regarding problems, and invite the community members to participate in solving those problems. Hamilton County Pretrial Services Investigators perform comprehensive investigative duties for assigned pretrial release, diversion, and mitigation eligible detainees and inmates. The County's Pretrial Service is in Phase II of the Jail Intake Assessment Process: streamlining of assessment procedures and forms; integration of evidence-based assessment tools; creation of a fully informed risk report for court officials; creation of a Central IT/EICT Unit to consolidate all assessment work; and redesigning the intake and orientation process. The Sheriff's Office implemented a passive electronic monitoring program for inmates.

Quarterly Activities: The equipment previously purchased by the Hamilton County Coroners Office is streamlining the entry of evidence photos into electronic case files. This quarter there were over 20 images entered into the system that correlate to six trace evidence cases. Cincinnati purchased computers, a fuming cabinet, a device seizure toolbox, and a portable and wireless day/night polecam system. Golf Manor installed four in car video systems. The City of Norwood purchased ballistic blocks, laptop computers, vests, and single point slings. The Automated License Plate Reader that Sharonville had previously purchased was installed and training was conducted. The vehicle changeover for Springdales recently purchased vehicle was completed. The new digital system previously purchased by Delhi Township continues to alleviate the need to rely on VHS tapes. They no longer have to monitor, place tapes into or remove tapes from the system or log VHS tapes into the property room. Supervisors review videos and provide feedback to the officers almost instantaneous. They utilize downloaded videos for training on officer safety tactics. The new system is very reliable and saves each officer valuable time, which allows them to be on the street longer. Officers save time from getting a new tape, logging the tapes into property room, looking for a video tape they need to review. The officers have increased access to view their videos. Also, videos can be duplicated with within a few minutes instead of relying on a recoding device that requires the actual time of the video to duplicate. Lovelands taser purchase has allowed each officer to have one assigned to them at all times. A recent incident at a liquor establishment necessitated the use of a taser to control and arrest an injured and intoxicated person. The taser adds a level of officer safety by providing additional options.