This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Justice Assistance Act of 1984, which established the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). As part of the commemoration of BJA’s 40th anniversary, BJA recognized the people and organizations that have worked with BJA over the last 40 years to transform our nation’s criminal justice system. As part of this effort, BJA created the first-ever Excellence in the Field of Criminal Justice Awards, recognizing innovations in public safety and significant contributions to our nation’s criminal justice system. JIRN would like to congratulate Dr. Edmund McGarrell for receiving this award for his work on reducing Violent crime.
Dr. McGarrell, an Emeritus Professor at Michigan State University’s School of Criminal Justice, has over 40 years of experience working with BJA and the field of addressing violent crime. Dr. McGarrell and his team developed the original BJA-funded Project Safe Neighborhoods and Smart/Innovations Suite Training Technical Assistance programs and are heavily involved in many other initiatives to reduce violent crime. Through his work directly with the field, he has significantly impacted violence reduction efforts in Indianapolis and Detroit.