IG10079 — The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program

/ The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program is a Department of Justice (DOJ) formula grant program. The JAG program allocates funds to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories (collectively referred to as “states” hereinafter) for a variety of state and local criminal justice purposes. The program is administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). JAG funds can be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems related to law enforcement, prosecution and courts, correctional, crime prevention, drug treatment, and crime victim assistance programs. Information as of May 14, 2025. Prepared by Nathan James, Analyst in Crime Policy and Jamie Bush, Visual Information Specialist. Additional information can be found in CRS In Focus Report IF10691, The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. Under the JAG formula, each state’s allocation is based on the state’s share of the U.S. population and its respective share of reported violent crimes. Under current law, each state receives at least 0.25% of the annual JAG appropriation (i.e., the minimum allocation). States whose formula allocation would have been less than the minimum only receive the minimum allocation. After each state’s allocation is determined, 40% is awarded directly to units of local government in the state. Each state is required to “pass-through” to units of local government a certain percentage of the funds directly awarded to the state. The pass-through percentage is calculated using data on criminal justice expenditures collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. STATE = 0.25% x appropriated amount to local governments directly from BJA Grants to local governments directly from BJA Disparate; must apply together for total amount. State retains this amount for its own use. Grants to local governments via the state Less than $10,000 jurisdictions. Funds administered by the state. pass through to local governments certain % calculated using criminal justice expenditures data 40% awarded Violent crimes = murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. STATE Population + Violent Crime 60% to the state When BJA certies that there is a disparate allocation—i.e., the award for one city is 1.5x more than the county in which it’s located or the total award for multiple cities in the county is 4x more than the county's award—the jurisdictions must apply together for a single joint award. The city or cities and county must agree how the joint award will be allocated and used. The remaining funds are allocated among the non-minimum allocation states using the JAG formula. Both the population and violent crime data for the states that received the minimum allocation are excluded when allocating the remaining funds. Remaining funds applies to all states Population + Violent Crime Non-minimum State Allocation Total State Allocation Allocations are based on each unit of local government's share of reported violent crimes in the state. Allocations of less than $10,000 are given to the state for it to administer. Some local governments may overlap (e.g., a city within a county).

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