Church Arson Prevention Training and Assistance Program . Series: BJA Fact Sheet Published: April 1997 3 pages 4,768 bytes U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance Nancy E. Gist, Director Church Arson Prevention Training and Technical Assistance Program The National Arson Initiative was established by President Clinton in June 1996, in response to the increasing number of church arsons occurring throughout the United States. As a result of this initiative, the Church Arson Prevention (CAP) program was created to help States develop and implement comprehensive church arson prevention programs and to mobilize communities to work together to prevent more church arsons. A key feature of the CAP program is the ease with which States, local governments, and civic groups can request training and technical assistance for church arson prevention activities. Specifically, the program will enhance the capacity of States and local jurisdictions to develop community-based strategies to prevent church arson. Goals BJA has committed itself to the following goals for the CAP training and technical assistance program. It will: o Expeditiously handle State and local governments' requests for training and technical assistance. o Coordinate with other Federal agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide training and technical assistance that is not specifically related to church arson. o Help States identify implementation strategies for their statewide CAP programs during training. o Provide experts to help facilitate the creation of community-based CAP plans. o Educate local governments about effective church arson prevention techniques. Criminal Justice Training and Technical Assistance CAP training and technical assistance will also focus on ways to assist State and local governments, criminal justice agencies, and community organizations with church arson prevention. To provide this assistance, BJA will make training and technical assistance broadly available to State and local governments through onsite consultations, BJA-sponsored training workshops and seminars, or conference presentations. In addition, BJA will retain highly qualified consultants to respond to each training and technical assistance request and to address the needs of the church arson prevention and criminal justice communities. How To Request CAP Training and Technical Assistance Requests for CAP training and technical assistance must be submitted in writing either through BJA's Internet home page at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA or by writing to BJA at the address provided below. Training and technical assistance requests must contain the following information: o A statement of the problem including actual threats and incidents of church arsons or suspicious activity that might result in church arsons. o The type of assistance needed. Possible areas include training in church arson prevention, community outreach and public awareness training, and strategic planning assistance for local communities, civic groups, and churches. o A brief description of the surrounding community that includes demographics and the composition of local law enforcement agencies (e.g., the size of the police or sheriff's department that has law enforcement jurisdiction). o The timeframe in which training is expected to be conducted. o The name, title, address, and telephone number of the primary contact person. o The intended recipient of training or technical assistance, whether it be a church group, law enforcement agency, civic group, or community. o The end product desired as a result of training and technical assistance. Examples include written and verbal reports, workshop and conference presentations, and strategic plans. For More Information To find out more about the CAP program or about other BJA programs and publications, contact these offices: Bureau of Justice Assistance Special Programs Division 633 Indiana Avenue NW. Washington, DC 20531 Tel: 202-307-0635 Fax: 202-514-5956 World Wide Web: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse Box 6000 Rockville, MD 20849-6000 Tel: 1-800-688-4252 World Wide Web: http://www.ncjrs.org Clearinghouse staff are available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. eastern time. Ask them to place you on the BJA mailing list. U.S. Department of Justice Response Center 1-800-421-6770 or 202-307-1480 Response Center staff are available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern time. FS 000174 April 1997