The Lehigh Acres Weed and Seed Initiative suffered a short-term setback with the recent announcement that there will be no Weed and Seed competitive awards for new sites due to a 20 percent reduction in the program’s 2010 fiscal year appropriation from the prior year.

However, the loss in potential Weed and Seed funding will be more than offset with $175,920 from a federal grant starting Oct. 1. The Lee County Board of County Commissioners on June 8 authorized the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to apply for an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance grant to provide enhanced law enforcement support for Lehigh Acres and Bravo District.

The Justice Department allocates this funding annually to states, counties and cities to support crime prevention efforts based on their own needs and conditions.

Drastic changes may be in store for Weed and Seed in the future. President Obama has proposed the elimination of the program in his fiscal year 2011 presidential budget. Instead, he is recommending Weed and Seed be replaced with a new, $40 million

Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation program, which will build upon the successes of the Weed and Seed strategy.

The Lehigh Acres Community Initiative, formerly known as the Lehigh Acres Weed and Seed Initiative, began in July 2008. This initiative will be eligible for funding under the proposed Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program. The new program will encourage communities to model innovative public safety initiatives using local, evidence-based strategies in order to develop new programs tailored to local conditions.

Community leaders, law enforcement and residents are determined to continue the

forward progress that has been achieved to date.

The community initiative is ongoing: law enforcement agencies and prosecutors will continue to “weed out” violent criminals and drug abusers; and, public agencies and community-based private organizations will collaborate to “seed” much-needed

human services, including prevention, intervention, treatment, and neighborhood restoration programs.

LCSO Bravo District Deputy Ray Dimm provides the community-oriented policing component that bridges the weeding and seeding elements.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office will apply for Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation program funding once it becomes available. Sheriff Mike Scott stands behind this strategy and is committed to his agency’s partnership within the Lehigh Acres Community Initiative and its residents to make Lehigh Acres a safer place to live and work.

This is taken from the Lehigh Acres Initiative’s July/August newsletter.