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6 <br /> While our nation has made great strides in reducing violent crime, some municipalities and <br /> regions continue to experience unacceptable levels of violent crime at rates far in excess of the <br /> national average. In 2014, as part of BJA's longstanding commitment to support effective <br /> strategies to reduce violent crime, BJA launched the Violence Reduction Network (VRN). By the <br /> end of FY 2016, 10 VRN sites, working with a broad network of federal, state, and local <br /> partners, will be implementing data-driven evidence-based strategies to reduce deeply <br /> entrenched violent crime in their communities. States and localities can support VRN sites by <br /> investing JAG funds in technology, crime analysis, training, and community-based crime <br /> reduction programs in VRN communities. For information on VRN, see <br /> www.bia.gov/ProgramsNRN.html. <br /> Body-Worn Cameras, Storage, and Policies <br /> Law enforcement agencies across the country are equipping their officers with body-worn <br /> cameras(BWCs)to increase transparency and build community trust. The important benefits of <br /> BWCs, and the challenges in implementing BWC programs, are highlighted in several recent <br /> publications: see the Office of Justice Programs' Diagnostic Center report Police Officer Body- <br /> Wom Cameras:Assessing the Evidence, and the COPS Office and Police Executive Research <br /> Forum paper, Implementing A Body-Worn Camera Program:Recommendations and Lessons <br /> Learned. <br /> JAG funding is an important potential source of funding for law enforcement agencies <br /> implementing new BWC programs or enhancing existing programs. JAG funds may be used to <br /> purchase BWCs and for costs associated with the BWC program, such as storage and policy <br /> development. Similarly, SAAs are encouraged to use either their Variable Pass-Through (VPT) <br /> or their"less than $10,000"funding that is added into the state award to set aside funds to <br /> assist small departments in implementing BWC programs. Grantees who wish to use JAG funds <br /> to purchase BWC equipment, or to implement or enhance BWC programs, must certify that they <br /> or the law enforcement agency receiving the BWC funding have policies and procedures in <br /> place related to equipment usage, data storage, privacy, victims, access, disclosure, training, <br /> etc. A copy of the required BWC certification can be found at <br /> www.bia.gov/Funding/BodyWornCameraCert.odf. <br /> The BJA BWC Toolkit provides model BWC policies, resources,and best practices to <br /> assist departments in implementing BWC programs. <br /> National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) <br /> The FBI has formally announced its intentions to establish NIBRS as the law enforcement(LE) <br /> crime data reporting standard for the nation. The transition to NIBRS will provide a more <br /> complete and accurate picture of crime at the national, state, and local level. Once this transition <br /> is complete, the FBI will no longer collect summary data and will only accept data in the NIBRS <br /> format and JAG awards will be based on submitted NIBRS data. Transitioning all law <br /> enforcement agencies to NIBRS is the first step in gathering more comprehensive crime data. <br /> State and local JAG grantees are encouraged to use JAG funds to expedite the transition to <br /> NIBRS in their jurisdictions. <br /> Justice System Reform and Reentry <br /> There is growing bipartisan support for Justice Systems Reform and Reentry. A promising <br /> approach to justice systems reform is the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI), a public-private <br /> partnership between BJA and the PEW Public Safety Performance Project. Currently, 30 states <br /> have used the justice reinvestment process to control spiraling incarceration costs and reinvest <br /> 5 <br /> BJA-2016-9020 <br /> 98 <br />