Justice Department Picks Four Cities to Share Nearly $300 Million in Anti-Crime Funding

The Justice Department has chosen four cities to share almost $300 million in federal funding through its new Model Cities Initiative, a competition meant to reduce violent crime. Jacksonville, Florida; St. Louis, Missouri; East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana; and Jackson, Mississippi were selected from nearly 50 applicants, according to details first reported by Fox News Digital on Friday.

The department launched the contest in June, inviting cities nationwide to submit plans for cutting violent crime and improving public safety. It has not said how the money will be split. Attorney General Todd Blanche and other DOJ leaders will visit each city over the next 10 days to present the awards and announce individual amounts, and the winners will then work with the department to finalize and carry out their plans.

The program uses what the department calls a "whole-of-city" approach, bringing together law enforcement, local government and community partners. Funds can pay for sworn and non-sworn personnel, technology and equipment, expanded forensic capabilities, and programs addressing mental health, substance abuse and recidivism.

Jacksonville's sheriff's office has an annual budget of roughly $674 million and more than 3,600 employees. The city recorded 59 murders in 2024, its lowest total since at least 1995 and less than half its 2023 figure, according to the sheriff's office. The DOJ says murders there fell 38% from 2023 to 2025, robberies fell 25% and aggravated assaults fell 21%, and it cited the city's training, technology use and investigative capabilities.

St. Louis budgeted about $147 million for its police department in fiscal 2026. Homicides fell from 263 in 2020 to 150 in 2024, the lowest since 2013, and overall crime fell 15% in 2024. Homicides in the first three months of 2025 dropped another 45% compared with the same period a year earlier. The city's proposal calls for adding more than 300 law enforcement personnel, modernizing technology and strengthening public safety operations.

In East Baton Rouge Parish, the police department was roughly 150 officers short earlier this year. Officials approved what they called the department's largest pay raise in its history, lifting starting salaries from $40,000 to $58,000. The parish also runs a Real Time Crime Center that uses data analytics. Jackson's police department already operates a Real Time Command Center and specialized units for gun crime, vice and narcotics, and its proposal calls for greater coordination among agencies and targeted enforcement. The DOJ described the plan as ambitious and technology-driven.

"The Model Cities Initiative reflects the Trump Administration's commitment to reducing crime across the country," Blanche said. "As violent crime rates continue to fall to historic lows, the Department of Justice is redoubling our efforts." Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said the cities "have the potential to set a new standard for safer communities across America."