Introduction

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime by improving the criminal and juvenile justice systems, increasing knowledge about crime and related issues, and assisting crime victims. This OJP Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Program Plan describes the grant opportunities OJP intends to fund in the coming months.

The Congressional appropriation that supports OJP’s programs and operations reflects the priorities of the President, the Attorney General, and Congress. OJP’s Acting Assistant Attorney General, Mary Lou Leary, ensures that OJP policies and programs reflect these priorities. OJP’s component bureaus and offices that administer the programs are described at www.ojp.gov/about/about.htm.

OJP’s objective is to be the premier resource for the justice community by:

• providing and coordinating information, research and development, statistics, training, and support to help the justice community meet its public safety goals; and
• embracing local decision-making through national policy leadership.

OJP’s goals are to:

• strengthen partnerships with state, local, and tribal stakeholders;
• ensure integrity of, and respect for, science — including a focus on evidence-based, "smart on crime" approaches in criminal and juvenile justice; and
• administer OJP’s grant awards process in a fair, accessible, and transparent fashion — and as good stewards of federal funds, manage the grants system in a manner that avoids waste, fraud, and abuse.

In fiscal year 2011, OJP made more than 3,500 grant awards to criminal and juvenile justice organizations and victim service providers at the national, state, local, and tribal level. These awards include a total of more than $2 billion to support public safety and justice initiatives in every part of the United States. A list of awards is posted at http://www.ojp.gov/funding/11grantawards.htm.