U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that the State of Louisiana has received $4,501,897 from the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), to fund state crisis intervention court proceedings, including but not limited to, extreme risk protection order (ERPO) programs that work to keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or others. This investment in community safety is authorized by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, historic legislation to address and reduce gun violence.
The recipient of this award, the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, is a foundation located in Baton Rouge dedicated to improving the operations of the criminal justice and juvenile justice systems and to promoting public safety by providing progressive leadership and coordination within the criminal justice community.
This award provides funding for the creation and implementation of extreme risk protection order programs, state crisis intervention court proceedings, and related gun violence reduction initiatives. Extreme risk protection order programs empower family members, health care providers, school officials and law enforcement officers to petition a court to temporarily prevent a person from accessing firearms if they are found to be a danger to themselves or others. Funds can also support interventions like drug, mental health and veterans’ treatment courts, gun violence recovery courts, behavior health deflection and outpatient treatment centers.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act also seeks to ensure that extreme risk protection order laws and programs are implemented in accordance with the Constitution and provide for adequate due process protections. Projects funded under this program will need to demonstrate that they have taken measures to safeguard the constitutional rights of an individual subject to a crisis intervention program or ERPO initiative. The Justice Department has long supported state efforts to increase the use of ERPOs and in 2021 the Department released model legislation to help states create their own extreme risk protection order systems and provide for intervention before warning signs turn into tragedy.
Signed into law by President Biden in June 2022, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is the most significant piece of federal gun safety legislation in almost three decades and comes as a response to recent mass shootings and to the far more common, but no less tragic, incidents of community gun violence. Including the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program, the law allocates a total of $1.4 billion to OJP over five years to develop, implement, and sustain meaningful investments in safer communities.
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