Anti-Violence Programs in Washington State To Get a Boost

The U.S. Department of Justice is awarding more than $11 million to anti-violence programs in Washington state.

The two largest grants of $4 million each are going to the state and a King County non-profit for distribution to smaller community-based organizations.

“These federal dollars will help identify and support local programs that are working to reduce violence in our community,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman. “I am particularly pleased to see the focus on youth violence and stopping gun crime. The epidemic of gun violence in our neighborhoods requires a sustained response from both law enforcement and community.”

Both the Eastern District of Washington and the Western District of Washington were awarded Project Safe Neighborhood grants aimed at combatting gun violence. In Eastern Washington, about $110,000 in grant funding will support gang and gun violence intervention in Yakima and Kennewick.

Additionally, Tacoma Police were awarded $800,000 to improve their investigation of gun crime.  The grant is to fund implementation and evaluation of ShotSpotter technology to identify precise locations of gunshots. The money will also fund additional fingerprint technology and equipment to improve the collection of evidence at crime scenes.

Educational Service District 112 in Clark County was awarded $1 million to implement an innovative school-based mental health treatment and case coordination program for students who are involved with the juvenile justice system or have been identified through the Student Threat Assessment process.  The money will fund three therapist who will serve students in schools in the nine districts that make up the Service District.

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