Thanks to a recent windfall of federal funding, safety and second chances are getting a needed boost in San Diego. From Homeland Security funds to monies allocated to buy new technology for the police department, San Diego can now better prepare for terrorist acts, use mobile technology to fight crime and help first-time nonviolent juvenile offenders get back on track.
The region received a $16 million federal grant to combat terrorism from the Department of Homeland Security in July. The grant was a considerable turnaround from the previous year, when San Diego didn’t receive any funding because it was not considered one of America’s highest-risk areas for terrorist attacks. The funding was the result of a full-court press on Washington by region officials led by San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders.
Flanked by a group of elected and public safety officials and county Supervisor Ron Roberts, Sanders said the Department of Homeland Security took into account that San Diego County has major military installations and is part of a border region with some 6 million residents. With the funds to combat terrorism secured, the region will now try to obtain some of the $50 million available to aid in improving communications systems. San Diego, Sacramento and Anaheim-Santa Ana areas are all vying for the funds. Local officials expect to know by September if San Diego will receive any of the funding.
A week after the Homeland Security funding was announced, Congresswoman Susan Davis announced she secured $500,000 in federal funding to improve technology used by the San Diego Police Department. The funding means the police department will be able to purchase, develop and implement technology that accesses law enforcement data in a mobile environment. Access to state-of-the-art information ” GPS tracking, photos, fingerprints, mapping and others ” will help police solve violent, property and high-tech crime. Davis released a statement saying the grant will give San Diego’s police officers the technological tools necessary to fight crime.
The technology will aid a police force that has one of the lowest ratios of sworn police officers to population and lags behinds other large cities in police spending. San Diego spends $246 per resident on police protection, the least amount per capita in California with the exception of San Jose, according to The Center on Policy Initiatives.
The funding for new technology was designated in the Commerce, Justice and State Department Appropriations legislation and includes $100,000 for the Children’s Imitative Youth Diversion Program in San Diego.
Targeting first-time nonviolent juvenile offenders, the program provides a supervised diversion program. Offenders who successfully complete the program have the opportunity to avoid a criminal record.
Started in 1997, the program now serves more than 200 juveniles. It gives juveniles a second chance through education on the juvenile justice system, meeting with the youth and family members, counseling and community service and tutoring. Of the program participants, 70 percent show improved attendance at school and a higher GPA. The program is now listed by the State of California in its Promising Practices list.