ALEXANDRIA, Va. - United States Attorneys G. Zachary Terwilliger and Thomas T. Cullen announced that the state has been awarded over $10.8 million in Department of Justice grants to respond to the public safety challenges posed by COVID-19.
The grants will go to the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and to the City of Petersburg, under the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding program.
The Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program allows those to support a broad range of activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus. Funded projects or initiatives may include, overtime, equipment (including law enforcement and medical personal protective equipment), hiring, supplies (such as gloves, masks, sanitizer), training, travel expenses (particularly related to the distribution of resources to the most impacted areas), and addressing the medical needs of inmates in state, local, and tribal prisons, jails, and detention centers.
The Justice Department aims to have funds available as soon as possible after receiving applications.
“Those on the front lines of the public safety response to the coronavirus have our support, gratitude, and utmost respect,” said Terwilliger. “The Department of Justice provides this funding with significant flexibility, so that state and local departments can use it in the ways that best benefit their officers and their community.”
