Suffolk, Nassau get $635G in federal grants for crime-fighting efforts

Two agencies on Long Island were awarded a total of $635,000 in federal grants to boost efforts to combat crime and prevent wrongful convictions, officials said Wednesday.

Richard P. Donoghue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, said in a statement the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office was awarded $360,000 for the “Bureau of Justice Assistance Innovative Prosecution Solutions for Combating Violent Crime Program.”

The program increases resources, training and technical assistance to develop strategies to address and prosecute individuals who commit violent crimes, Donoghue said in a news release.

Suffolk County was the recipient of a $275,000 grant for the “Bureau of Justice Assistance Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program.” The program aims to help state and local policymakers, and entities representing defendants with claims of innocence after their convictions, officials said. The program also seeks to develop ways to prevent future errors and ensure justice, officials said.

The two grants were part of more than $376 million in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs meant to increase state, local and tribal law enforcement practice while reinforcing public safety across the country, officials said.

“DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs’ grants will provide additional support to our law enforcement and community partners in Nassau and Suffolk Counties to our collective benefit,” Donoghue said in the statement.