Justice Department Announces Nearly $4 Million in Awards to Combat Intellectual Property Crimes

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced that in fiscal year 2010 nearly $4 million was awarded to enable state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to address education, deterrence, enforcement and evidence gathering for prosecution of intellectual property crime in coordination with federal efforts.  Over $2 million in discretionary awards, announced today, were made to 13 state and local jurisdictions.

"IP enforcement is more than just protecting businesses from economic loss – it is also about protecting Americans from dangerous goods ranging from counterfeit pharmaceuticals to lead-tainted jewelry," said Laurie O. Robinson, OJP's Assistant Attorney General. "The Department of Justice is implementing a strategy that includes federal, state and international partners to combat this type of crime."

The funding to the 13 state and local jurisdictions provides support for:

• Enforcing criminal intellectual property laws, including the reimbursement of expenses incurred in performing criminal enforcement operations, such as overtime payments and storage fees for seized evidence.
• Educating the public to prevent, deter, and identify criminal violations of intellectual property laws.
• Establishing task forces to include state, local law, or tribal enforcement entities, or both, exclusively to conduct investigations and forensic analyses of evidence and prosecutions in matters involving criminal intellectual property laws.
• Assisting state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers and prosecutors in acquiring computer and other equipment to conduct investigations and forensic analyses of evidence in matters involving criminal intellectual property laws.

The local award recipients are:

• County of Fresno (Fresno, CA) ($49,992)
• Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (Los Angeles, CA) ($200,000)
• County of Sacramento (Sacramento, CA) ($200,000)
• Miami Shores Village (Miami Shores, FL) ($64,885)
• Attorney General's Office, Mississippi, (Jackson, MS)  ($166,365)
• North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State (Raleigh, NC) ($199,978)
• Bronx County District Attorney (Bronx, NY) ($113,103)
• New York City (NY, NY) ($192,200)
• The New York County District Attorney's Office (NY, NY) ($199,800)
• Houston Police Department (Houston, TX) ($200,000)
• City of San Antonio (TX) ($200,000)
• Chesterfield County, VA (Chesterfield, VA) ($200,000)
• Virginia Department of State Police (Richmond, VA) ($149,907)

"Intellectual property crime is not a victimless crime – it affects every American citizen," notes Jim Burch, Acting Director of OJP's Bureau of Justice Assistance.  "Dangerous counterfeit products and lost retail revenue resulting from intellectual property crimes pose significant threats to the safety and economic security of the American people."

Awards were also made to the City of Los Angeles Police Department, the National Crime Prevention Council, The National Association of Attorneys General and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).  The announcement of the awards was made at the opening of a one day training summit, Real Crime – Real American Jobs, Why You Should Care about Intellectual Property Rights, for law enforcement, policy makers, and industry representatives, in Pasadena, CA.

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims.  OJP has seven components: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; the Community Capacity Development Office, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking.  More information about OJP can be found at http://www.ojp.gov.

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SOURCE Office of Justice Programs