AUGUSTA, Maine — If the Justice Assistance Council, a group made up of criminal justice officials and others from around the state, funded every good idea floated Monday at a public hearing it would need more than twice the $6 million in federal stimulus money it is responsible for allocating.
The Department of Corrections wants $1 million to expand pretrial services programs around the state.
The court system could use $5 million to integrate its computer system with local, county and state police and district attorney’s offices so they can know with the click of a mouse whether a defendant about to be released on bail has pending charges anywhere else in the state.
Just $57,000 would allow the Attorney General’s Office to have a prosecutor work full time instead of part time on the state’s 75 unsolved homicides.
More than 40 people interested in what priorities the 15-member board will set attended the meeting Monday at the Department of Public Safety in Augusta. The board made no decisions but will set some broad priorities at its next meeting to be held in mid-May when it also will consider formal proposals.
Maine received $9.6 million in Justice Assistance Grants with more than $3.5 million going directly to county sheriff’s offices and municipal police departments. The Justice Assistance Council is responsible for awarding the rest through a grant process.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 must be spent on projects that will either save jobs, create jobs or develop an infrastructure. Every state, municipality and-or agency that accepts any of the money must agree to strict rules of accountability and transparency.
The first in line to receive money in Maine most likely will be the statewide Drug Enforcement Agency. Congress cut federal funding to the agency in December 2007 by more than $1 million. Anne Jordan, commissioner of Maine Public Safety, said Monday that at least that much of the stimulus money would be used to prevent seven drug agents around the state from being laid off and to allow two vacant drug prosecutor positions in the Attorney General’s Office to be filled.
Although the $6 million discussed Monday won’t cover every request, Jordan pointed out that there is $265 million more in stimulus money available through a national competitive grant process. She also said that the recently passed omnibus bill also would funnel money into the state for similar grants but she did not yet know how much would be available.
The Justice Assistance Council also will decide how $1.2 million in Violence Against Women Grants for victim services will be spent in Maine but groups seeking funding from that program will have more time to submit proposals, according to Jordan.
Another approximately $500,000 is earmarked for Internet Crimes Against Children Grants. That money is expected to be used to hire additional personnel to work in the Maine State Police’s Computer Crimes Unit or to train officers in local police departments to protect children from Internet crime.