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crime and who purchase or sell guns illegally. This includes ensuring that persons prohibited from
<br />purchasing firearms (see e.g.,18 U.S.C. § 922(g)) are deterred from doing so by enhancing complete,
<br />accurate, and timely access to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and
<br />the submission of all necessary records to the FBI databases in a timely fashion, thereby helping to prevent
<br />illegal transfers of firearms to those who are prohibited from owning firearms under current law.
<br />In addition, in June 2021, DOJ issued guidance regarding threats against election workers and a task force
<br />to address the rise in such threats. BJA also sent a letter to SAA Directors to address the rise in such
<br />threats. BJA also sent a letter to SAA Directors clarifying that JAG funds can be used to deter, detect, and
<br />protect against threats of violence against election workers, administrators, officials, and others associated
<br />with the electoral process. BJA encourages JAG recipients to utilize funds to prevent and respond to violent
<br />threats of this kind.
<br />Community Violence Interventions: In April 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration announced historic
<br />investments in community violence intervention (CVI) efforts to combat the gun violence epidemic. CVI is
<br />an approach that uses evidence -informed strategies to reduce violence through tailored, community -
<br />centered initiatives. These multidisciplinary strategies engage individuals and groups to prevent and disrupt
<br />cycles of violence and retaliation and establish relationships between individuals and community assets to
<br />deliver services that save lives, address trauma, provide opportunity, and improve the physical, social, and
<br />economic conditions that drive violence. CVI strategies typically focus on high risk individuals and gang and
<br />gun violence, as well as the historical and structural challenges that often contribute to community violence.
<br />CVI strategies should involve holistic, coordinated interventions attending to the multiple needs of
<br />individuals at high risk of gang and gun violence. For example, hospital -based violence intervention
<br />programs use credible messengers to connect with victims of gun violence while they are still in the
<br />hospital, and then wraparound services are typically deployed such as behavioral health supports,
<br />employment access, housing advocacy, and family supports. visit https://bja.ojp.gov/program/community-
<br />violence-intervention/overview. BJA encourages JAG recipients to invest JAG funds to tailor programs and
<br />responses to CVI in an effort to build strong, sustained partnerships with community residents and
<br />organizations to support CVI work in communities most impacted by violent crime. CVI strategies will be
<br />highlighted on BJA's National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) website, and jurisdictions
<br />looking to implement those strategies can request training and technical assistance (TTA) on the NTTAC
<br />website.
<br />Addressing COVID-19 Criminal Justice Challenges and Sustaining Innovations: As a result of the
<br />COVID-19 pandemic, SLTT criminal justice agencies implemented various community mitigation policies to
<br />prevent and reduce the spread of COVID-19. Courts at every level were forced to cancel or significantly
<br />scale back proceedings, which commonly included suspending in -person hearings, granting extensions of
<br />court deadlines and waivers of speedy trials, restricting access to court buildings, and postponing jury trials.
<br />This created a backlog of cases, which impacted criminal court operations and court staff, victims, and
<br />witnesses, as well as defendants. To address backlogs and other consequences of the necessary
<br />mitigation policies, SLTT agencies created innovative ways to administer justice. While many of these
<br />innovations had an up -front cost, they hold significant potential to be cost saving and efficient over time. For
<br />example, correctional facilities have enabled virtual programming, education, medical appointments, and
<br />family visits, as well as efforts to reduce incarcerated populations. Police departments have hosted virtual
<br />community engagement events and opportunities, and courts and community corrections have increased
<br />the use of virtual staffing, status hearings, client visits, and access to treatment and support services. In
<br />addition, resources have supported the purchase of technology like headsets and Wi-Fi hotspots to ensure
<br />confidentiality of defense counsel with clients, as well as partnerships with community partners to host
<br />outdoor events like drug court graduations. It is important for SLTT agencies to sustain innovations that
<br />improved both the efficiency and effectiveness of justice system operations, and BJA encourages JAG
<br />recipients to utilize funds for continued innovation sustainment activities and to continue to address the
<br />backlog of cases. This could include the purchase of technology to enhance the use of virtual tools to
<br />conduct outreach to witnesses and defendants, as well as for hearings and status conferences, staffing,
<br />and enhancing access to services; resources to assist the jurisdiction to develop or enhance its case
<br />management system to assess and work to eliminate the backlog of cases; building tools to support
<br />diversion and alternatives to incarceration as part of the review of backlogged cases; and technology and
<br />equipment to retrofit court houses and staff to mitigate risks to staff and those coming to court. In addition to
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