The Justice Department chose Jacksonville, East Baton Rouge Parish, Jackson and St. Louis for the Model Cities Initiative on Oct. 30, awarding nearly $300 million to four jurisdictions to reduce violent crime, the department said. The money averages just under $75 million per jurisdiction, a calculation from the department’s total. Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. tied the investment to a 25% decline in nonfatal violent crime from 2024 to 2025, and that figure describes the whole country. The survey behind it is nationally representative, so it does not measure the four places receiving the money.
The Four Jurisdictions and Their Funded Agencies
The awards go to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in Florida, East Baton Rouge Parish in Louisiana, the City of Jackson in Mississippi and the St. Louis Police Department in Missouri. Each jurisdiction must finalize and implement a public safety plan with the Justice Department.
Attorney General Todd Blanche will visit all four jurisdictions next month to present the awards and meet with officials and community partners. Blanche said the cities are “setting an example of proactive law enforcement” and that the department is increasing its investment in local communities as violent crime falls.
What the Model Cities Money Can Buy
The department announced the Model Cities Initiative in June as a flagship effort to reduce violent crime. It builds on early results the department cites in Memphis, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., and it uses a whole-of-city approach that brings together law enforcement, local government and community partners.
The funding can pay for hiring sworn and non-sworn personnel for enforcement, prosecution and related work. It can also pay for new technology and equipment, stronger forensic capabilities, and mental health and substance use services meant to reduce repeat offending.
What the Federal Crime Survey Shows
The Bureau of Justice Statistics published its preliminary 2025 estimates on Oct. 26. Serious violent victimization, which covers rape or sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault, fell 25% from 9.9 to 7.4 per 1,000 people age 12 or older, according to the Justice Department’s summary. Aggravated assault fell 31%, from 4.5 to 3.1 per 1,000.
The survey samples about 240,000 people in about 150,000 households. It is the first report from the redesigned survey instrument, which BJS says produces estimates that are not comparable to those from the older version. The estimates are preliminary, and BJS plans final figures in a report due in 2027. The best case for the funding is the trend itself: the department is putting money into cities while the national numbers move in its favor, and it can point to Memphis and Washington as its test cases. The awards will reach the four jurisdictions when Blanche visits next month.
