This bill reauthorizes the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program through fiscal year 2030, updates eligible grant uses to include technology and overtime pay, and mandates annual transparency reports on fund expenditures and local crime statistics.
John Cornyn
Senator
TX
The Project Safe Neighborhoods Reauthorization Act of 2025 extends the crucial nationwide program that unites federal, state, and local partners to combat violent crime using community-focused strategies. This bill reauthorizes funding for the program through fiscal year 2030 and updates grant provisions to explicitly cover new personnel, overtime costs, and technology for crime reduction. Furthermore, it mandates annual transparency reports detailing fund usage, community outreach, and specific violent crime statistics for every participating district.
Federal Crime Reduction Program Renewed Through 2030, Funds Overtime Pay and Tech Upgrades
The Project Safe Neighborhoods Reauthorization Act of 2025 is basically the federal government hitting the 'refresh' button on a major, nationwide violent crime reduction program that’s been running since 2001. This bill extends the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Grant Program, authorizing its funding through fiscal years 2026 to 2030. Crucially, it updates what local law enforcement agencies can actually buy and pay for with this federal grant money, focusing on modernizing how they tackle neighborhood violence using a mix of enforcement, prevention, and community engagement.
The Budget Gets Real: Paying for Overtime and Analysts
For anyone who works with or relies on local law enforcement, this section is key because it makes the federal money much more flexible and useful. Previously, grant restrictions often made it tough to cover basic operational costs. This bill changes that by explicitly allowing PSN funds to be used for overtime pay for police officers, prosecutors, and newly defined “law enforcement assistants” when they are working on PSN goals. Think of it this way: instead of having a detective pull resources off other cases, this money can cover the extra hours needed for a focused, long-term violent crime initiative, which should translate to more consistent effort in high-crime areas.
Furthermore, the bill adds the role of “crime analyst” to the list of funded positions. These are the folks who crunch data—where and when crimes are happening—to help police departments stop reacting and start predicting. For communities, this means law enforcement should be able to apply resources more strategically, rather than just chasing calls. The bill also explicitly allows grant money to be used for buying and setting up technology specifically designed to reduce violent crime, giving local agencies the ability to invest in modern tools.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Funding Task Forces
Section 4, officially titled the Officer Ella Grace French and Sergeant Jim Smith Task Force Support Act of 2025, addresses one of the biggest headaches in policing: jurisdictional boundaries. Violent crime doesn't stop at the city limit sign. This provision updates the grant program to specifically allow funding for “support for multi-jurisdictional task forces.” This is a big deal for suburbs and neighboring counties that often struggle to coordinate resources. Now, federal PSN grant money can be explicitly used to help these cross-boundary teams work together—sharing intelligence, running joint operations, and ensuring criminals can’t just hop across the county line to escape detection.
Show Me the Receipts: New Transparency Rules
Perhaps the most significant change for public accountability is Section 5, which mandates new transparency requirements. The Attorney General must now submit an annual report to Congress detailing exactly how the PSN funds were spent in every single district receiving money. This report must also describe the community outreach efforts undertaken and, most importantly, include specific crime statistics for the area, covering murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. For the busy citizen, this means that every year, there will be a clear, centralized document showing where the money went and whether the program actually moved the needle on violent crime in their community. This mandatory, detailed reporting provides a crucial mechanism for holding local agencies accountable for the federal dollars they receive.