WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today announced that the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape has been awarded $750,000 through the U.S. Department of Justice to implement the National Witness Protection Center (NWPC).
“I’m pleased that the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape has been awarded these funds to tackle the problem of witness intimidation,” said Senator Casey. “This is an organization that is doing vital work fighting violence against women and children.”
The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape will implement the National Witness Protection Center (NWPC). NWPC will work to assess and evaluate three diverse population centers and their individual criminal justice responses to witness intimidation; and will initiate an individual pilot project in each jurisdiction to refine existing working responses and close gaps in neglected areas with specialized technical assistance, training, protocol development and evidence based national best practices.
The Encouraging Innovation: Field-Initiated Programs is designed to strengthen the criminal justice system by challenging those in the field to identify and define emerging or chronic systemic issues faced by one or more components of the criminal justice continuum (includes but not limited to law enforcement, corrections, courts, and community collaborations) and to propose innovative solutions to address these issues.
This program is funded under both the Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program (Byrne Competitive Program) and the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program.
Earlier this year, Senator Casey secured $250,000 in federal funding for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) in the bill that will fund the Department of Justice next year. This legislation is pending and could be enacted into law later this year. The funding will be used for the Hero Program that engages adults in reporting and intervening in child sexual abuse. Senator Casey secured $250,000 for this initiative in 2008.
###
