[Video] DOJ Announces Model Cities Investment in St. Louis: Funding a Real-Time Crime Center to Fight Violent Crime

ST. LOUIS — The U.S. Department of Justice held a press conference in St. Louis, Missouri, on the morning of November 9 to announce a new federal Model Cities Initiative investment supporting the city's fight against violent crime. The press conference was streamed live in full on the Justice Department's official YouTube channel, beginning at 7:31 a.m. Pacific Time and running about one hour and three minutes.

According to the remarks delivered at the event, the investment will lay the foundation for a real-time crime center in St. Louis that will link up with the Crime Gun Intelligence Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), using the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), the eTrace firearms tracing system and DNA to help identify the people responsible for gun violence. ATF Director Rob Sakata said the additional investment builds on the department's Operation Show Me Justice in the city and on the St. Louis police department's focused efforts to keep violent crime on a downward trend. Robert Tracy of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and other federal and local law-enforcement officials attended the press conference.

The Model Cities Initiative, launched by the Justice Department in June with nearly $300 million in federal funding, selects cities facing acute public-safety challenges with strong multi-agency plans, and supports hiring law-enforcement and prosecution staff, upgrading technology and equipment, and strengthening forensic capacity. On October 30, the department announced four selections from nearly 50 applicant cities: Jacksonville, Florida; East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and St. Louis, Missouri. Award press conferences were held in Baton Rouge on November 4 and in Jacksonville on November 6, where Jacksonville received more than $73 million.

The size of the St. Louis award has since been clarified: in a post on its official X account following the press conference, the Justice Department said Blanche announced at the event that St. Louis will receive $68 million in federal funding through the Model Cities Initiative, to be paid out over three years. The department has not yet issued a St. Louis-specific press release, and the detailed terms remain subject to that release.

Related: [Live Attorney General Blanche Holds Press Conference in Jackson, Mississippi to Present Model Cities Initiative Award]; [Video Attorney General Blanche to Present Model Cities Award in Jacksonville Today, Local Amount to Be Announced]; Follow-Up: Justice Department Awards Jacksonville More Than $73 Million Under Model Cities Initiative

Reference: U.S. Department of Justice

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：司法部长 Blanche 在圣路易斯记者会上宣布「模范城市计划」投资，联邦与密苏里州官员在侧（司法部官方视频截图） / Image: Attorney General Blanche announces the Model Cities Initiative investment at the St. Louis press conference, flanked by federal and Missouri officials (U.S. Department of Justice official video still)

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