TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Prosecutor to execute all necessary documents to receive and expend grant funding awarded to the City Prosecutor by the Long Beach Community Foundation in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000), and increase appropriation in the General Grants Fund (SR 120) in the City Prosecutor Department (CP) by $5,000.
DISCUSSION
The Long Beach Community Foundation (LBCF) has approved a $5,000 grant to the Office of the City Prosecutor to assist the office with its gang prevention, crime reduction, and neighborhood improvement efforts. By approving this agenda item, the City will be able to accept the funds and use the funds for a broad range of activities supporting the work of the City Prosecutor's Office.
The City Prosecutor's Office is recognized as a leader in several respects. In 2013, the City Prosecutor's Gang Prevention Strategy was recognized by Neighborhoods USA as one of the nation's "Best Neighborhood Programs." During the presentation of the award at Neighborhoods USA's annual conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Gang Prevention Strategy was described as follows:
"In Long Beach, police and prosecutors have developed a threepart strategy that suppresses gang violence, creates community partnerships, and keeps at-risk kids in school. Combining new technology with a neighborhood-based approach, the Gang Prevention Strategy could become a model for prosecutors across the nation."
More recently, the United States Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), awarded a grant to the City Prosecutor's Office to expand its programs aimed at reducing gang violence. The grant funds from the Department of Justice have been allocated for specific staff costs during the current and next fiscal year. One gang suppression strategy employed by the
City Prosecutor's Office is the use of court orders to target active gang leaders, in an effort to reduce violent crime in Long Beach and make recruitment for gangs more difficult.
In addition to gang prosecutions, the City Prosecutor works with the Police Department, Long Beach Unified School District, and community groups on gang prevention and anti-truancy programs. The Parent Accountability and Chronic Truancy (P.A.C.T.) Program is now in its third year and has improved class attendance by over 30% in some youth considered at-risk for dropping out of school.
The City Prosecutor's Office is also a leader in creative diversion programs designed to reduce crime long term, save taxpayers money, and reduce court congestion. One example of a successful diversion program is the Community Service Worker (CSW) program where low level, first-time offenders are allowed to perform community labor in lieu of facing jail time or significant fines (which often go unpaid). The CSW program has saved taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past 5 years, while beautifying and improving city beaches, wetlands, parks, streets and other public areas.
This grant will be used to support the City Prosecutor's Office in a number of its efforts. By utilizing private nonprofit funds, the Office of the City Prosecutor can augment its efforts without directly using city funds, helping to stretch tax dollars further.
Although the City Prosecutor's Council-approved budget currently includes funding for most costs associated with the programs run by the department, there is a need for private funding to cover costs not traditionally funded by the City. For example, private funds from the LBCF can help pay for backpacks and school supplies, incentives to encourage school attendance, campaigns to promote and increase mentoring opportunities, tattoo removal, and other similar expenditures. The City Prosecutor's Office has worked with the LBCF to help raise funds over the past year, and will continue to work with them to further utilize private sources to reduce crime in Long Beach.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
This adjustment to the FY 2015 budget is requested to reflect the acceptance of this grant award. City Council action is requested no later than August 11, 2015, so that funds can be used starting immediately.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to receive $5,000 in grant funds. As the funds are unbudgeted, an appropriation increase in the City Prosecutor Grants Fund (SR 120) by $5,000 in FY 2015 in the City Prosecutor Department (CP) is requested as part of the recommended action. There is no match required and, therefore, no fiscal impact to the General Fund or any other city fund.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
DOUGLAS P. HAUBERT
CITY PROSECUTOR