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Stimulus debate foregrounded controversy over Byrne grants

An article at Stateline.org ("Stimulus prompts debate over police funds," Feb. 11) cited some of my past work critical of the federal Byrne grant program, for which $1.2 billion made it into Congress' final stimulus compromise. Proponents see the multijurisdictional drug task forces primarily funded by the program as job creators, but:Critics say the task forces, because of their unique cross-jurisdictional structure, enjoy virtually unchecked law enforcement power that has been abused in the past and remain unaccountable for how they spend their money. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas in 2002 issued a report cataloguing 17 scandals involving Byrne-funded task forces in the state, including the imprisonment of more than three dozen African-Americans in Tulia, Texas, based on the uncorroborated testimony of a single, white undercover agent...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on February 12, 2009 (boomark / email).