Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Office of Grants and Research
State Fiscal Year 2024
Commonwealth Project Safe Neighborhoods
Initiative
Report to the Massachusetts General Court
Senate and House Committees on Ways and Means
August 2024
Maura T. Healey Kimberley Driscoll
Governor Lieutenant Governor
Terrence M. Reidy Kevin J. Stanton
Secretary Executive Director
Introduction
The Office of Grants and Research (OGR) is pleased to present this summary of the FY24
Commonwealth Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative grant program.
OGR is a state agency that is part of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS).
EOPSS is responsible for the policy development and budget oversight of the secretariat’s agencies,
independent programs, and several boards which aid in crime prevention, homeland security preparedness,
and ensuring the safety of residents and visitors in the Commonwealth. The agencies that fall under EOPSS
are:
• Massachusetts State Police
• Massachusetts Emergency management Agency
• Sex Offender Registry Board
• Department of Fire Services
• Department of Criminal Justice Information Services
• Department of Correction
• Parole Board
• Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
• State 911 Department
• Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab
• Municipal Police Training Committee
• Massachusetts National Guard
• Office of Grants and Research
In addition to managing and administering state-funded criminal justice, homeland security, and traffic
safety grant programs, OGR is the State Administering Agency (SAA) for federal grant funding received by
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In total,
the agency manages more than $150 million in grant funds annually. Additionally, OGR’s Research and
Policy Analysis Division (RPAD), which houses the Massachusetts Statistical Analysis Center, utilizes
research and evaluation to promote public safety in the Commonwealth by informing criminal justice and
public safety policy. The goals of the OGR include:
• Improving community safety and local preparedness by providing resources to communities based
on need;
• Investing in evidenced based innovative programs;
• Granting awards based on national and state priorities;
• Fostering collaboration across jurisdictions by delivering grant dollars with a regional approach;
• Making funding decisions based upon research, empirical data, and best practices; and
• Ensuring the grant awarding process is transparent and in compliance with federal and state
guidelines.
This document serves as the report authored by OGR regarding the FY24 Commonwealth Project Safe
Neighborhoods Initiative grant program.
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 Program Narrative
For FY24 – the first year that this program was made available – the Commonwealth Project Safe
Neighborhood Initiative was allotted $2 million. Eligibility was limited to a Massachusetts District
Attorney’s Office and the Massachusetts State Police (MSP). The purpose of this funding is to
address community-based criminal activity related to gang violence, illegal firearms, and narcotics
use and distribution.
District Attorney’s Offices seeking funding were required to allot a minimum of 25% of their
grant budget to prevention, intervention, and/or diversion type programming and a maximum of
75% of their grant budget for enforcement and suppression. MSP was invited to submit separate
proposals covering different areas of the Commonwealth that it determined to have the greatest
need to address criminal activity related to gang violence, illegal firearms, and narcotics use and
distribution. The MSP was required to submit at least one application including a youth-based
prevention component.
Each proposal consisted of:
• Needs Assessment
• Project Description
• Budget
Application and Review Process
OGR received sixteen responses to the FY24 Commonwealth Project Safe Neighborhood Initiative
solicitation. The amount of funding requested by the sixteen proposals totaled $1,900.000.00.
Each application was reviewed by two OGR employees. In the application review meeting, the
review team discussed the quality, feasibility, and reasonableness of each application. The review
sheet provided to reviewers detailed specific items to be rated and the possible point allowance for
each item. Each section was scored separately, and the total maximum score allowed was 100. At
the end of the review sheet, reviewers were asked to enter a final review score by calculating the
sum of each of the individual rated sections.
Recommendations provided by the review team were then cross-referenced with funding criteria
listed within the FY24 Commonwealth Project Safe Neighborhood Initiative Availability of Grant
Funds (AGF). These criteria include:
• Use of data to demonstrate need and a description of how requested programming addresses the
stated need;
• A narrative that clearly describes the items to be purchased and/or programming to be
implemented, and the benefits to the agency and/or community;
• Implementation plan and timeline that are feasible; and
• Consistency between the proposed budget and strategy.
The review team recommended that all sixteen applicants receive funding. No applicants were
recommended for rejection.
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 Awarded Fund
The following communities and their partners were awarded funds in FY24:
Massachusetts District Attorney’s Offices
Award Recipient Award Amount Project Description
Consultants, laptop,
workstation, tactical vest,
license plate reader,
signage, homicide school
Berkshire District Attorney's Office $100,000.00 training
Consultants, cameras,
laptops, faraday
Cape & The Islands District bags/bundles, license
Attorney's Office $98,998.11 plate reader, trainings
Essex District Attorney's Office $100,000.00 Overtime, consultants
Hampden District Attorney's Office $99,715.00 Overtime
Middle District Attorney's Office $100,000.00 Personnel, consultants
Personnel, laptop, phone
Middlesex District Attorney's Office $28,075.75 and associated software
Northwestern District Attorney's Overtime, night vision
Office $93,300.00 device, lights, advertising
Contracts, TruNarc
Plymouth District Attorney's Office $100,000.00 device, overtime
Suffolk District Attorney’s Office $100,000.00 Personnel, Contracts
TOTAL: $ 820,088.86
Massachusetts State Police
Funded Project Award Amount Project Description
Massachusetts State Police - Overtime, contracts
Barnstable $100,000.00
Massachusetts State Police - Overtime
Boston $210,000.00
Massachusetts State Police - Overtime, contracts
Fall River $100,000.00
Massachusetts State Police - Overtime, contracts
Lawrence/Brockton $170,000.00
Massachusetts State Police - Overtime, contracts
Springfield/Holyoke $160,000.00
Overtime, contracts,
Massachusetts State Police - marketing, activity
Youth Programming $60,000.00 supplies
Massachusetts State Police- Overtime, contracts
targeted hotspots as needed
throughout state $279,911.14
TOTAL: $1,079,911.14
All agencies were notified of their award on January 19, 2024, and asked to complete all required
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Interdepartmental Service Agreement (ISA) documents no later than January 26, 2024.
This is a reimbursement grant; therefore, the submission of an online Quarterly Report is required
to reimburse the agency for any equipment and/or services rendered.
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