Rural Violent Crime Initiative
Active
- Assistance listing
- 16.039
- Agency
-
Bureau of Justice Assistance
Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice
- Grant awards
- 54 $23,202,538 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Also known as
- RVCI
- Assistance types
-
- Cooperative Agreement
- Project Grant
- Treasury account
-
- 15-0404-0-1-754
- More information
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance funds the Rural Violent Crime Initiative (CFDA 16.039) to equip rural law enforcement agencies and prosecutors' offices with resources to implement violent crime reduction strategies, with the most recent grant awards made October 1, 2024, and an FY 2026 solicitation (O-BJA-2026-172761) due October 30, 2026.
The program has issued 54 competitive grants totaling $23.2 million in federal dollars obligated since its first awards in November 2021. Award volume has declined from 23 grants annually in 2021 and 2023 to 8 grants in 2024, signaling a contracting portfolio. The assistance-type mix is predominantly Project Grants (94 percent, 51 awards) with a smaller share of Cooperative Agreements (6 percent, 3 awards). The Bureau of Justice Assistance is the sole funder under this listing.
Recent awards demonstrate the program's concrete scope: Long Beach, New York received $300,000 to hire a narcotics detective; Tuttle, Oklahoma received $299,153 to acquire records management system software and create a violent crime detective position; Sauk County, Wisconsin received $300,000 to hire a prosecutor and support drug task force operations; Ellicottville and Salamanca, New York police departments received $189,778 collectively for community engagement, intelligence-led policing, and digital evidence processing; and Jacksonville, Alabama received $218,728 for radio communications upgrades and community perception surveys. The program also funds technology deployment—real-time crime centers, license plate readers, surveillance cameras, gunshot detection sensors, and 3D crime scene scanning—along with victim services, community policing, prosecution capacity, and multi-agency task force support.
Award magnitudes typically cluster in the $275,000 to $320,000 range for individual law enforcement agencies, though recent awards show outliers: Justice & Security Strategies received $1.4 million in October 2023 as a Cooperative Agreement for training and technical assistance to grantees. The National Policing Institute received $10.47 million in November 2021 as a TTA provider cooperative agreement.
The FY 2026 opportunity (due October 30, 2026) invites applications from city, county, and tribal governments to address specific violent crime challenges through personnel hiring, technology systems, data analytics enhancement, and other approaches reducing violent crime rates. The FY 2025 solicitation (O-BJA-2025-172495, extended from May 27, 2026) remains open on a deadline-extension basis.
Objective and description
- Objective
Program goal(s) name: Reduction in rural violent crime. Program goal(s) description: Increase the capacity of rural law enforcement agencies or prosecutors' offices to implement programming and activities that combat violent crime. Program objective
- Description
This program supports rural jurisdictions with planning and implementing strategies that will address specific violent crime challenges and prevent violent crime in their communities.
Eligibility
- Beneficiary eligibility
The main beneficiaries of this NOFO will be rural jurisdiction that are experiencing persistently high or recently precipitous incidences of violent crime. The particular the types, causes, and solution of rural violent crime are often unique and different than those for urban violent crime. Accordingly, rural violent crime deserves focused attention and targeted solutions.
- Length and time phasing of assistance
Award periods for Office of Justice programs generally range from 12 to 36 months. For specifics pertaining to this program, please see the current fiscal year's program NOFO available at the Office of Justice Programs web site (https://www.ojp.gov/funding/explore/current-funding-opportunities). For additional information, see the Department of Justice Grants Financial Guide section on "Period of Availability of Funds" at https://www.ojp.gov/funding/financialguidedoj/iii-postaward-requirements), .
How to apply
- Criteria for selecting proposals
Criteria for selecting proposals is determined as part of the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).
- Award procedure
All final award decisions will be made by the Assistant Attorney General, unless a statute explicitly authorizes award decisions by another official or there is written delegation of authority to another official. For successful applicants, JustGrants will send a system-generated email to the Application Submitter, Authorized Representative, and Entity Administrator with information on accessing their official award package in JustGrants. The award package will include key information (such as funding amount and period of performance) as well as award conditions that must be followed. The Authorized Representative for the entity should accept or decline the award within 45 days of the notification.
- Time to approval or disapproval
The review procedure for applications is specified in the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and generally includes eligibility and responsiveness, merit, programmatic, budget, and risk reviews.
- Renewals
In some cases, award periods may be extended if specific criteria are met. For details, please review the discussion of no-cost extensions in the Criteria for Award Extension section of the Department of Justice Grants Financial Guide available at https://www.ojp.gov/funding/financialguidedoj/iii-postaward-requirements.
Grant opportunities
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 54 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Policing Institute | $10,471,407 | 45% |
| 2 | Justice And Security Strategies, Inc. | $1,400,000 | 6% |
| 3 | Local Initiatives Support Corporation | $1,000,000 | 4% |
| 4 | City Of Bloomfield | $372,464 | 2% |
| 5 | City Of Greeley | $300,000 | 1% |
| 6 | City Of La Marque | $300,000 | 1% |
| 7 | Dallas County Commission | $300,000 | 1% |
| 8 | White County | $300,000 | 1% |
| 9 | Sauk County | $300,000 | 1% |
| 10 | City Of Brawley | $300,000 | 1% |
10 of 53 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | -$49,276 |
| FY2025 | -$10,378 |
| FY2024 | $7,962,945 |
| FY2023 | $5,606,074 |
| FY2022 | $9,783,059 |
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 16.039?
Assistance Listing 16.039 is Rural Violent Crime Initiative, a federal grant program run by Bureau of Justice Assistance (Office of Justice Programs).
What is the CFDA number for Rural Violent Crime Initiative?
Its CFDA number is 16.039: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 16.039 awarded?
54 grant awards under 16.039 have obligated $23,202,538 in federal funds to 53 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 16.039?
The recipients obligated the most under Rural Violent Crime Initiative are National Policing Institute ($10,471,407), Justice And Security Strategies, Inc. ($1,400,000) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation ($1,000,000).
How much did 16.039 obligate in fiscal year 2025?
Grants under 16.039 obligated -$10,378 in federal funds in fiscal year 2025.
Are there open grant opportunities under 16.039?
1 listed opportunity under 16.039 is open or forecasted. The latest, BJA FY 2026 Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative, was posted on September 21, 2026.
On GovTribe
See this program's full record
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