Justice Assistance Sample Grant Application – Tarpon Springs Police

Eligibility

1. Has the applicant been incorporated in the State of Florida for at least one (1) year prior to date of application or is the applicant a local government or police department within Pinellas County?
   Yes
2. Is the applicant organization providing the proposed services or purchasing equipment for their organization’s use? Subcontracting of contractual services needs to be preapproved.
   Yes
3. Do the proposed programs/services serve residents of Pinellas County? The applicant must have at least one client-accessible office or service location within Pinellas County.
   Yes
4. Does the applicant organization agree not to discriminate against any applicant for employment or employee with respect to hire, tenure, terms, conditions or privileges of employment or any matter directly or indirectly related to employment or against any client because of age, sex, race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation?
   Yes
5. Does the applicant organization agree not to discriminate against any person on the basis of age, sex, race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, disability, marital status or sexual orientation in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services and activities?
   Yes
6. Do the programs proposed by faith organizations have a secular purpose, and do not require worship or religious instruction activities? Services provided by faith organizations must be available to all Pinellas County residents, not solely for congregation members.
   N/A
7. Does the applicant organization maintain an active System for Award Management account (Sam.gov) with no disbarments or suspensions?
   Yes

A. Agency Information

Please provide the following information:

Legal Agency Information

A.13. Taxpayer/Employer ID
596000437

A.14. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI- Federal SAM.GOV Number
3WKH4

Application Contact Information

A.15. First Name
Frank

A.16. Last Name
Ruggiero

A.17. Contact Person/Title
Major

A.18. Contact Email
fruggiero@tspd.us

A.19. Telephone
7279382849

A.20. Executive Officer First Name
Jeff

A.21. Executive Officer Last Name
Young

A.22. Executive Officer Title
Chief

A.23. Executive Officer Email
jyoung@tspd.us

A.24. Executive Officer Phone Number
(727) 938-2849

B. Organizational Profile

B.2 Explain the organization’s experience and capacity relevant to the proposed program, including staff qualifications and experience.
We have ten Traffic Homicide Investigators, with two reconstructionist. Both reconstructionist are also instructors that teach these types of investigations to other law enforcement officer around the state of Florida. We will be using the requested funds to purchase a 3D scanner to process crash scenes quicker and more accurately while still processing physical scene evidence, for successful prosecution in court and to clear the roadways faster to alleviate traffic congestion.

B.3. What credentials or licensing does the organization maintain which support the program?
Florida Department of Law Enforcement certified Instructors and FASRO licenses.

C. Community Needs

C.1. Clearly identify the problem to be addressed through the proposed program. Provide supporting statistics or data specific to Pinellas County such as needs assessments, interviews, waiting lists, surveys, trends and/or analyses.
While the roadways in the city of Tarpon Springs are very congested, a vehicle or pedestrian crash involving any type of injury or fatality can close down the roadways for extensive amounts of time, while the investigation and evidence collection is conducted. During these types of investigations, while the traffic is re-routed it causes danger to not only our investigators but also bystanders and drivers that are diverted to roadways that they might not be familiar with. These delays have also been known to cause aggressive driving, while drivers that are delayed try to make up their lost time, which causes even more danger to everyone. We already use advanced investigative tools but coupled with a scanner, these types of delicate investigations will be more accurately and quickly documented, which will result in the roadways being back to normal faster.

C.2. Select which of the following best describes the current funding source of your project.
New Program

C.2a. If new and innovative, discuss what is currently being done in the community to address the need and how this program differs to provide better results.
This scanner will offer us an option to process and open the roadway in a fraction of the time it currently takes. We already use advanced investigative tools, such as drones and laser total stations, but coupled with a scanner, these types of delicate investigations will be more accurately and quickly documented, which will result in the roadways being back to normal faster. 3D scanners for crash investigations is become the industry standard used during major crash and other major crime scene.

C.3. How will the proposed program be coordinated with existing programs in the community?
This equipment will assist not only our crash investigation but can also be used for crime scene processing and will assist our community in traffic delays especially during rush hours.

D. Scope of Services

D.1. Describe the program or types of services to be delivered. How do the services apply to the proposed FDLE priority area?
This program has a high probability of preventing and controlling additional crime and improving the traffic congestion to avoid multiple other crashes that usually occur while roadways are closed and detoured through neighborhoods.

D.2. What is the target population and eligibility criteria?
Anyone that drives a vehicle or walks along the roadways in the City of Tarpon Springs.

D.3. Program Specifics

D.3a. Identify the geographic service area.
The City of Tarpon Springs

D.3b. Hours/days of operation for program/project during contract period.
Our Traffic Homicide Investigation teams and equipment are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

D.3c. Program Staff
Will we be training all ten of our investigators on the use of this equipment.

D.3d. What Direct Services can this program or project provide?
Offers a three-dimensional scaled diagram of the scene that is scan, allowing investigators to determine speed, fault and special circumstances that may have caused the crash.

D.3e. Service Units (Number, unit, time increment- 52 Families per year or 400 pounds of food per week)
Number of investigations varies each year.

D.4. What information will be collected to demonstrate program success? Describe how client/individual data is collected. (Please be specific on the platform your program uses if you collect data electronically, and the interval at which data is collected)
Time it takes to successfully investigate and open roadways, while also determining if other crashes were possibly avoided.

E. Program Outcomes and Goals

FY23 JAG Outcomes and Goals Template

F. Budget

F.1. Total Annual Program / Project Budget
$70,000.00

F.2. Amount of Grant Funding Request
$70,000.00

F.3. Will the program continue beyond the expiration of this funding, and what resources will be utilized for financial sustainability?
Yes, this is a one-time cost for equipment, department will pay all maintenance fees.

F.4. Please see JAG Budget Instructions for Project Budget.