The Chief of Police for the Houston Police Department (HPD) recommends that City Council approve an ordinance authorizing an electronic application and acceptance of grant funds through the Office of the Governor, Public Safety Office Criminal Justice Division (CJD) for the FY25 General Victim Assistance Grant Program. The grant period becomes effective October 1, 2024, or on the date of final signature, whichever is later, and ends on September 30, 2025. The Office of the Governor will provide $197,167.57 in grant funding. This will be the city's fourth award under this program.
The purpose of the FY25 General Victim Assistance Grant is to provide services and assistance directly to victims of crime to speed their recovery and aid them through the criminal justice process. If this grant is awarded, the HPD Victim Services Division (VSD) will continue to expand its capacity to serve survivors of homicide and criminal fatality accidents by employing three retired officers (with prior experience in criminal investigations) to work as victim advocates. This project will positively impact the lives of the survivors of homicide and criminal fatality accidents throughout Houston through personal advocacy, emotional support, and provision of resource and referral to relevant services. The grant will be used to fund salaries for two Senior Victim Advocates.
The Houston Police Department also requests City Council to authorize the Chief of Police or his designee to act as the City’s representative in the application process with the authority to apply for, accept and expend the grant funds as awarded, and apply for, accept and expend all subsequent awards, if any, to extend the budget period, and to authorize the Mayor to execute all related agreements with the approval of the City Attorney in connection with the grant not to exceed five years.
Fiscal Note:
No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.
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J. Noe Diaz, Jr.
Chief of Police