WILMINGTON, Del. – On Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012, U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons and Congressman John Carney (all D-Del.) will announce the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistant Grant (JAG) Program's grants to the Town of Middletown, the Cities of Newark and Wilmington, New Castle County, and the Delaware Criminal Justice Council.

JAG funding is the leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. The JAG Program provides states, tribes, and local governments with critical funding necessary to support a range of program areas including law enforcement, prosecution and courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, planning, evaluation, technology improvement, and crime victim and witness initiatives. The grant award is named after Edward Byrne, who was a New York City police officer murdered in 1988, while guarding a material witness.