A mix of promising grant funding proposals and a continued effort by state governors to promote public safety initiatives are what fueled the Justice/Public Safety market for February. On top of that, INPUT identified and reported on a variety of different contracting opportunities and awards. These new projects fall directly in line with the efforts outlined by both the Department of Justice and by state governors.

To begin with, the Department of Justice released its fiscal year 2011 budget request on the first of the month. Within that request, the Department outlined a variety of different initiatives it hopes to accomplish in the upcoming fiscal year. These initiatives included an increase in funding for the COPS Hiring grant program (an additional $302 million), the announcement of a new Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program ($40 million) and a new Justice Information Sharing and Technology Program ($15 million), and an increase in the efforts to promote smart policing ($10 million). All of these grant programs need the President's approval. However, this sort of forward-thinking is exactly what public safety agencies are looking for as they begin to plan for the next three to five years.

For example, the Town of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, will be looking into a license plate recognition system in the near future. This is a fine example of a project that would qualify for a variety of these new DOJ grant programs. Another project that could fit the mold of Justice Information Sharing and Technology grant program would be that of Burlington, Vermont, who will be looking into a new computer aided dispatch (CAD), records management system (RMS), and Integrated Justice Information System (IJIS).

While many agencies will look to the federal government for assistance in funding these projects, they should not forget about the funding that will be made available to them by their own state governments. The first quarter of the year always proves to be a busy one for state governors, as most are required to release their upcoming fiscal year budget recommendations. Public safety, corrections, emergency management, and homeland security departments saw recommendations in the multiple billions of dollars. While most of that will go towards general public safety operations, there was plenty of public safety IT initiatives outlined in the governor's recommended budgets. For example, the Colorado Department of Public Safety has requested $2 million for their computer aided dispatch system. Also, Florida has requested that $25.5 million be spent in FY2011 on providing information network services to the law enforcement community.

In concluding, it should be clear that the month of February for the Justice/Public Safety world was a promising one for both the public and private sector. Both the Department of Justice and state Governors have high hopes for public safety offices around the country. INPUT expects that March will be just as promising as additional stimulus funds, such as broadband money, will continue to flow into the hands of public safety departments.