The U.S. Justice Department has announced the Model Cities Initiative, a whole-of-city approach directing nearly $300 million in federal funding to transform public safety in America’s cities.

Through this initiative, two to four cities will be selected to receive awards supporting the implementation of comprehensive and innovative strategies to reduce crime, restore law and order, and enhance public safety.

Proposals from qualifying cities are due September 1, according to a DOJ statement on Wednesday.

“This administration is leveraging every authority to ensure the safety of all Americans,” said acting attorney general Todd Blanche. “The Model Cities Initiative will supercharge our law enforcement partners and restore the rule of law to America’s neighbourhoods, towns, and cities. Our message is clear: We will help those who help us Make America Safe Again.”

Investments will be made in areas including public safety, behavioural health, and related staffing, equipment, and services. The goal is to leverage federal resources to build capacity, strengthen accountability, and deliver measurable crime reductions that can serve as a model of innovation for nationwide replication, the President Donald Trump administration noted.

Eligible applicants include local government entities serving a population of at least 100,000.

The MCI initiative will support allowable activities, including hiring and retention of sworn and non-sworn personnel directly engaged in or supporting violent crime reduction efforts, and the purchase or lease of equipment, tools, or technology that reduce crime and restore law and order. 

This includes, but is not limited to real-time crime centers; forensic and DNA tools; body-worn cameras; license plate readers; artificial intelligence systems; small unmanned aircraft systems and counter-UAS; ballistic identification systems; and information technology upgrades.

Additionally, it comprises training and professional development that support intelligence-led policing, violent crime investigations, crisis response, correctional practices that strengthen reentry outcomes, and coordination with state and federal law enforcement partners. 

It also covers facility costs, including lease, rental, or renovation expenses for space directly used in programme operations, such as service delivery sites, training facilities, real-time crime centres, or intelligence analysis centres.

The DOJ also listed mental health and substance use services that directly support prevention, crisis response, screening and early intervention, treatment, case management, and related services addressing issues linked to public safety outcomes, including services provided in correctional facilities and in the community.

Youth crime prevention and intervention services that address risk factors for juvenile delinquency and violence, including gang intervention and suppression programmes, are part of the arrangement.

“Cities will apply through a whole-of-city approach,” stated the DOJ. “That means city leaders, including the mayor, sheriff, county prosecutor, and others, will work together to submit a single application that presents a persuasive vision for how this money can be awarded strategically throughout their city to improve law enforcement engagement, victim services, detention and reentry services, and preventive programmes.”