HomeMy WebLinkAboutDept of Justice letter - FY 2009 Annual Report U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Assistance
Washington,D.C.205.31 BOARD 0
F,9UpERV1S0R3
NOV 0-2 1010
Dear Colleague: OROVILLE,CALIFORNIA
It is my pleasure to present a copy of the Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Report to Congress for the
U.S.Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
In a year of economic challenges, BJA continued to provide strong leadership, strategic funding
opportunities, and criminal justice policy development to support national, state, local,and tribal justice
strategies to achieve safer communities. Entrusted with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds,
BJA had the privilege to provide justice systems nationwide with the necessary resources to develop,
sustain, and enhance"smart"justice strategies.
Driving BJA's work in the field were key principles that enabled BJA to promptly respond to our
nation's needs and standards of excellence. These principles were:
• Emphasize locally-driven strategies and accountability of programs.
• Develop strong partnerships and relationships with the field.
• Encourage evidence-based strategies and innovation in an effort to expand system capacity.
• Streamline grant funding,targeted training and technical assistance, and communicate smart
approaches and promising practices to replicate success.
As the enclosed report will attest, BJA effectively distributed the resources on behalf of the
Department of Justice and the Administration. BJA's Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Report provides
information on BJA-funded and supported programs in the areas of crime prevention, managing
offenders, protecting vulnerable populations, combating drug crime and abuse, problem-solving justice,
tools and science for criminal justice,emergency planning, advancing tribal relations,justice information
sharing, and capacity building. Our online version, available at www.oip.gov/BJAIAR, provides
additional success stories,live links to the resources mentioned, and access to data on BJA funding by
state and locality.
I trust this report will serve as yet another example of how the Department has supported justice
and public safety in an efficient and effective way. Please do not hesitate to contact BJA at
AskBJA@usdoj.pv or via 202-616-6500 if you have any questions or would like to provide feedback on
the report or BJA's efforts.
Sincerely,
James H. Burch, 11
Acting Director