September 11, 2024
Reading, PA — September 11, 2024 — The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency today awarded $2,263,680 in criminal justice and crime prevention grant funding to six entities in Berks County.
“Today’s awards acknowledge the tremendous services these grant recipients are delivering for the people of Berks County,” said Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks). “I’m grateful to the PCCD for making these investments that will support victims and provide them opportunities to seek the services and assistance they need.”
The recipients, funding sources and award totals are as follows:
Federal Byrne Justice Assistance Program
Connections Work — $135,773 for reentry coalition coordination.
Federal STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program
SAFE Berks — $125,000 to support the Berks County STOP team.
Federal Victims of Crime Fund Program
Berks County Commissioners — $131,862 to enhance services for Berks County victims.
CASA of Berks County — $45,183 to support the continuation of child victim advocacy services.
Community Justice Project — $42,928 for immigration legal services for victims.
SAFE Berks — $1,136,592 to support victims of crime.
MidPenn Legal Services — $646,342 for the Legal Intervention for Victims Empowerment program.
December 14, 2022
Reading — December 14, 2022 — This morning, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency announced that the 11th Senatorial District received a total of $5,160,209 in grant funding for community safety initiatives.
The funding comes from a variety of different PCCD funding opportunities including the Non-Profit Security Grant Fund, Federal American Rescue Plan Act Funds Local Law Enforcement Support Grant Program, the State Children’s Advocacy Center Funds the Federal Victims of Crime Act, State Rights and Services Act, and State Victims of Juvenile Offenders Funds and others.
State Sen. Judy Schwank applauded the county, local governments, and non-profits that received funding for taking advantage of the opportunities provided by PCCD. She also highlighted the fact that the funding for the Local Law Enforcement Support Grant Program came from the federal American Rescue Plan.
“It’s always exciting to see funding flow into our area,” Schwank said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that this list of projects will help us achieve safer communities across Berks County. I commend the county, the local governments, and the non-profits that received funding today for putting together strong applications and taking full advantage of the funding opportunities our state government has to offer.”
The recipients are listed below.
Non-Profit Security Grant Fund
Abilities in Motion — $20,000 for safety and security upgrades.
Chabad Lubavitch of Berks County, Inc. — $150,000 for safety and security upgrades.
Local Law Enforcement Support Grant Program
Central Berks Regional Police Department — $153,250 for an upgrade to the current record management system to transition to NIBRS and upgrade the in-house server.
Muhlenberg Township — $427,462 for in-car camera systems, license plate readers, and body-worn cameras with peripheral support equipment.
City of Reading — $2,029,000 for portable tablet computers for patrol, investigations, and services division personnel, recruitment funding, pole cameras, and training (use of force, implicit bias, de-escalation).
West Reading Borough — $153,988 for NIBRS-compliant Records Management System software, backup system, server, in-car cameras, laptop, desktops, license plate reader, body-worn camera storage, XF print all-in-one law enforcement handhelds.
Wyomissing Borough — $98,000 NIBRS-compliant record management system, desk workstation, and mobile computers.
County of Berks — $552,341 for one part-time Firearms Examiner position for two years to supplement the work of the current full-time Firearms Examiner. The funding will also be used to purchase and install a laboratory to allow for the safe discharge of firearms on-site to expedite analysis.
City of Reading — $686,768 to staff a Neighborhood Gun Violence Unit in the Patrol Division that will investigate gun violence incidents at the street level in neighborhoods, assign two investigators to follow up on gun violence incidents, provide funding for increasing the frequency and effectiveness of the Reading Police Department’s multi-agency Operation Ceasefire Details, and the purchase of pole cameras.
Clare of Assisi House — $100,000 to support the Women’s Empowerment After Prison Project.
State Children’s Advocacy Center Funds
County of Berks — $47,000 to support the Children’s Alliance Center.
State Victims of Juvenile Offenders Funds
County of Berks — $528,038 to support the District Attorney’s Victim/Witness Assistance Unit.
County of Berks — $214,362 to support the Juvenile Probation Victim/Witness Assistance Unit.
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June 10, 2021
Reading, June 10, 2021 Three projects put forward by the Berk County will receive $884,403 in grant funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) for three projects according to Sen. Judy Schwank (D-11th district), Rep. Mark Rozzi (D-126th district) and Rep. Manny Guzman (D-127th district).
Berks County will also receive $409,955 in State Intermediate Punishment Treatment Funds for the Berks Intermediate Punishment FY21/22 project and $454,448 in Improvement of Adult Probation Service Grant-In-Aid Funds for the Berks County APO Grant in Aid FY20/21 project. The funding will be used to provide treatment for individuals facing drug related offenses and to strengthen services for those on probation.
Berks will also receive $20,000 in support from the Capital Case Indigent Defense Funds. The funds will be used for a mitigation expert for a capital homicide case from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022.
“These grant funds will have an immediate positive impact on the health and safety of all Berks County residents,” said Sen. Schwank. “Strategic investments in our justice system are crucial and have tremendous social benefits for entire communities.”
“This much-needed state support will go a long way to improve the criminal justice system here at home,” Rep. Rozzi said. “These grants will allow for the increase of treatment services, including supporting detox and alcohol intervention. In short, these funds will allow the people who want help find the support they need and progress toward making a positive impact in their family’s lives as well as in their community.”
“I remain committed to fighting for criminal justice reform and ending mass incarceration, and while much more work still needs to be done, I’m pleased to see that one of these grants will allow the Berks County Jail System to decrease its incarcerated population,” Rep. Guzman said. “Implementing a probation program with restrictions for people convicted of non-violent drug or alcohol offenses will allow people to recover and receive the treatment they need. Jail is not the only answer for every person, at some point we also need to treat the issue that led to the crime.”
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Contact: Spencer Thornburg
Sen. Judy Schwank
Phone: 610-929-2151
Email: spencer.thornburg@pasenate.com
March 10, 2021
Reading, March 10, 2021 − Three Berks organizations each received a Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) Non-Profit Security Grant to improve the safety and security of their facility, State Sen. Judy Schwank (D-11) announced.
The grants, which stemmed from legislation supported by Schwank (Act 83 of 2019), are meant for non-profit entities that principally serve individuals, groups or institutions that are included within a bias motivation category for a single bias hate crime incident identified by the FBI. Those incident categories include: race/ethnicity/ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender and gender identity.
Eligible projects include:
- Purchase of safety and security equipment
- Threat awareness and response training
- Upgrades to existing structures that enhance safety and security
- Vulnerability and threat assessments
- Any other safety or security-related project that enhances safety or security of the non-profit organization
The three Berks recipients are:
- Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom, Wyomissing, $9,897
- The LGBT Center of Greater Reading, Reading, $11,525
- Abilities in Motion, Reading, $6,500
“The organizations who received these grants are well deserving of the funding and will put it to good uses,” Schwank said. “I am thankful that PCCD saw the relevance of funding these key organizations in our community.”
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March 13, 2012
READING, March 13 – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Thomas Caltagirone, D-Berks, and state Sen. Judy Schwank announced the approval of more than $30,000 in grants by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to improve the juvenile justice system in Berks County.
Caltagirone, who serves on the PCCD board, said: “These grants will help Berks County Courts handle juvenile criminal cases quickly and smoothly because the offices will have appropriate staff to accommodate case loads.
“Ultimately, this makes the court system more accountable to the public and more effective in rehabilitating troubled children,” Caltagirone continued. “It also eliminates unnecessary and costly courtroom appearances and backlogs. It’s important to remember that when we let children get lost in the criminal justice system, in the long run, no one benefits.”
“The court system is critical to maintaining order and enforcing laws, so obviously we want to make sure they are appropriately staffed,” Sen Schwank added. “This funding will help the courts meet increasing demands on their resources, but it also will give minors the counsel they need to get their lives back on track, and hopefully avoid future entanglements with the law.”
The Berks County District Attorney’s Office received $15,042 for two assistant district attorneys and one support staff for the Berks County Juvenile Court. The funding will help increase pre-hearing diversion cases, pre-hearing case negotiations, and decrease the number of preventable case continuances.
The Berks County Public Defender’s Office received $15,043 to partially fund a fully-time assistant public defender and support staff to meet increasing needs of juvenile offenders. The funding will ensue that juveniles are represented at the earliest opportunity and help public defender staff reduce conflicts that cause court delays and the need for new counsel.
The funding comes from the federal Juvenile Accountability Block Grant program for continuation projects.
