Lenoir County SAFE secures grant for crucial violence intervention services
Crime Commission Allocates $3.5M for Violence Intervention; Highlights Issues Impacting
North Carolina Victim Services and Careers in Law Enforcement
The Governor's Crime Commission on Sept. 5 voted to approve $3.5 million for grants to provide violence intervention programs. Commissioners also discussed critical challenges facing the state’s crime victim service providers and law enforcement agencies.
Funding Approvals for Violence Intervention Programs
The Commission plans to award 18 grants for Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program funding, totaling $3.5 million. The funding will support violence intervention programs across the state, including treatment courts, domestic violence intervention programs, violence intervention programs and behavioral health services. Recipients include community-based organizations, hospitals, and government organizations.
These programs are aligned with the public health approach to violence prevention championed by the Governor and by the state’s first Office of Violence Prevention, established within the Department of Public Safety in 2023.
Steep Decline in Federal Funding for Victim Services
A significant concern raised during the meeting was the projected decline in 2025 federal funding for victim service organizations in North Carolina. Victim of Crime Act funding is expected to drop to $3.5 million in 2025, marking a sharp decrease from the $24.6 million allocated in 2024, and ringing in at just a fraction of the $103-million high granted to the state in 2018.
This drop outstrips expectations and serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges faced by crime victims' rights advocates. VOCA funds ensure providers can offer critical services to victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, fraud, elder abuse and other crimes.
Law Enforcement Career Outlook: A Growing Concern
Commissioners also discussed the results of law enforcement career surveys commissioned by the state’s Criminal Justice Analysis Center in 2023. Responses revealed sentiments among law enforcement leadership regarding the future of their profession, indicating that the majority of law enforcement leaders are not likely to recommend a career in law enforcement to others.
The survey used the Net Promoter Score metric, a standard measure of willingness to recommend a service or product. The results showed a score of -33 for general leadership and -43 for Basic Law Enforcement Training leaders, indicating widespread dissatisfaction and concern about the future of the profession.
Comment from the Executive Director
“We are pleased to approve funding for innovative programs that will help our state advance a public health, whole-of-community approach to gun violence prevention in our communities,” said Caroline Farmer, executive director of the Governor’s Crime Commission.
“At the same time, our focus remains on ensuring critical services for victims of crime in the face of declining VOCA funding. And the results of the law enforcement survey are a stark reminder of the growing challenges within the profession. All of these issues are interconnected and will define funding decisions in the coming months.”
Neuse News is a locally-owned small business startup in downtown Kinston. Our goal is to provide free, hyper-local news to Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties. The kind of news our grandparents read in a format fit for today's times.
We provide this by having supportive advertisers and we encourage you to click on their ads, shop with them, and eat with them. Every bit of financial support is important to help us sustain free, hyper-local news.
Please consider supporting Neuse News with as little as $5 one-time or via a monthly option. Every little bit helps us, help you.
