The office of criminal justice programs (ocjp), which is located within the tennessee department of finance and administration, continues to serve as the state administrative agency (SAA) for the…

The office of criminal justice programs (ocjp), which is located within the tennessee department of finance and administration, continues to serve as the state administrative agency (SAA) for the edward byrne justice assistance grant (JAG) program in tennessee. For over two decades the byrne program has provided a vehicle for pilot development of new criminal justice programs in the state of tennessee. The byrne justice assistance grant assists the office of criminal justice programs in carrying out a multi-faceted response to crime and victimization in tennessee by supporting the improvement of the infrastructure of the criminal justice system, by enabling innovation, and by funding new ideas and strategies to combat crime. Tennessees implementation of this program is designed to adapt as changes occur to the system. The JAG program provides tennessee critical funding to support a range of program areas including law enforcement, prosecution and court, prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, crime victim/witness initiatives, and planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs.