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Nancy E. Gist, Director

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Assistance

The Emergency Federal Law EnforcementAssistance Program

The Federal Government administers a variety ofassistance programs to provide a coordinated responseto State and local governments stricken by natural dis-asters. During such extraordinary circumstances, whenState or local agencies are incapable of unilaterallycoping with the aftermath of a flood, hurricane, tornado,or other natural calamity, the Federal Government hascome to their aid with a multiagency response.

Although the Federal Government has programs to as-sist State and local governments with natural disasters,until 1984 there was no coordinated Federal responsefor any other type of emergency. A number of eventsoccurring in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s are ex-amples of the types of unexpected law enforcementemergencies State and local agencies may face: theAtlanta child murders; the Los Angeles Night Stalker,San Francisco Zodiac, and Seattle Green River serialmurder investigations; and the Mariel Cuban boatlift.Although the Federal Government’s primary law en-forcement role is to enforce Federal criminal statutes,it can play an ancillary role by assisting State and localgovernments with unexpected law enforcement emer-gencies that overwhelm their capacities to respond.

Program Scope and PurposeOn October 12, 1984, the Emergency Federal Law En-forcement Assistance (EFLEA) Program was enactedinto law as part of the Justice Assistance Act of 1984(Public Law 98–473) and is now administered by theBureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of JusticePrograms, U.S. Department of Justice. Its function isto assist State and/or local units of government in re-sponding to law enforcement emergencies through the

provision of Federal law enforcement assistance. TheEFLEA Program authorizes the Attorney General toprovide funds, equipment, training, intelligence infor-mation, and personnel to help alleviate emergency situ-ations. It also authorizes the Director of BJA to assistthe Attorney General in providing EFLEA assistanceand coordinating program activities.

Congress’ intent in passing the EFLEA Program was tocreate an assistance program to address extraordinarycircumstances that have the potential to create seriousthreats to public safety. Congress limited the number ofeligible law enforcement emergencies by restrictingapplicability to situations in which State and local re-sources have been completely exhausted or are inad-equate to deal with a law enforcement emergency. Thelegislative history of the Justice Assistance Act of 1984indicates that Congress expected few emergencies to bedire enough to require Federal involvement throughEFLEA. The program was never intended to be a rou-tine source of Federal financial assistance for criminaljustice activities.

Section 609N(3) of the Justice Assistance Act clearlydelineates the purpose of EFLEA and limits its applica-bility by defining a “law enforcement emergency” as:

. . . an uncommon situation which requires law en-forcement, which is or threatens to become of seriousepidemic proportions, and with respect to whichState and local resources are inadequate to protectthe lives and property of citizens or to enforce thecriminal law, except that such term does not[emphasis added] include the perceived need forplanning or other activities related to crowd control

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for general public safety projects, or a situation re-quiring the enforcement of laws associated withscheduled public events, including political conven-tions and sports events.

The EFLEA Program serves a special purpose in allevi-ating damage resulting from a law enforcement emer-gency and providing financial support for actions takento prevent further losses.

Eligibility f or Program AssistanceIf a law enforcement emergency exists throughout aState or in part of a State, the State may submit an ap-plication for itself or for units of local government tothe U.S. Attorney General for EFLEA Program assis-tance. The application must meet certain criteria and besubmitted in writing by the Governor in accordancewith established EFLEA application guidelines, as de-scribed in the following sections.

Key Determining FactorsThe Attorney General evaluates EFLEA Programapplications based on the likelihood that the situationwill escalate into a law enforcement emergency of epi-demic proportions, posing an imminent threat to publicsafety. The law enforcement emergency must be ofsufficient magnitude to overwhelm the State or localgovernment’s ability to respond. Based on these criteria,the Attorney General approves or disapproves fundingawards within 10 days after receiving the application.

Application RequirementsThe Governor should submit a written application andsigned transmittal letter that include the followingelements:

❏ Problem. A description of the nature and extent ofthe law enforcement emergency, including the specificidentification and description of the political and juris-dictional subdivision(s) where the emergency exists.

❏ Resources. A description of the State and localcriminal justice resources available to address the emer-gency and an explanation of why and to what degreethey are insufficient.

❏ Required assistance. A specific statement of thefunds, equipment, training, intelligence information,and/or personnel requested and a description of theirintended use.

❏ Other assistance. Information about any other as-sistance the State or appropriate unit of government hasreceived or could receive under the provisions of theOmnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968,as amended.

❏ Complete line-item budget. A budget accompa-nied by a detailed narrative explaining all costs forwhich EFLEA funding is requested and showing howsuch costs were derived.

❏ Signed and dated assurance statement. A state-ment certifying compliance with applicable Federalstatutes, regulations, policies, guidelines, andrequirements.

❏ Certification statements. Statements concerninglobbying, debarment, suspension, drug-free workplacerequirements, and other responsibility matters.

❏ Disclosure of lobbying activities. A description ofany lobbying activities in which the applicant may beengaged, if the amount of the application exceeds$100,000.

Program LimitationsThe EFLEA Program is not a grant program for normaland customary criminal justice expenditures; therefore,the following activities are not eligible for funding:

❏ Land acquisition. No funds are to be used to pur-chase or acquire land.

❏ Supplantation. No funds are to be used to sup-plant State or local funds that would otherwise be madeavailable for such purposes.

❏ Civil justice. No funds or other assistance are to beused for civil justice matters, except to the extent thatsuch matters relate directly and substantially to, or areinextricably intertwined with, criminal justice matters.

❏ Use of Federal law enforcement personnel. Fed-eral law enforcement personnel may not be used toinvestigate violations of criminal law other than viola-tions for which investigation is authorized by other pro-visions of law (Section 6090(a) of the JusticeAssistance Act).

❏ Direction, supervision, and control. Neither theAttorney General nor the Federal law enforcementcommunity may exercise any direction, supervision, orcontrol over any applicant’s police force or other crimi-nal justice agency (Section 6090(b) of the JusticeAssistance Act).

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Examples of Recent A wardsEFLEA awards have been made for the followingextraordinary law enforcement emergencies:

❏ Suspicious deaths. In June 1995, the State ofIndiana requested funds to assist in investigating suspi-cious deaths in the intensive care unit of the VermillionCounty Hospital in Clinton. The State was awarded$330,578 to support task force efforts in conducting ahomicide investigation, exhuming dozens of bodiesburied in cemeteries in several States, conductingautopsies and forensic analyses, and securing medicalexperts.

❏ Rodney King/Reginald Denny cases. In April1993, the State of California requested funds for lawenforcement overtime to amass a sufficiently largepresence of State and local law enforcement officers toprevent civil disturbances. The State had incurred ex-traordinary overtime expenses during jury deliberationsin the civil rights trial of police officers prosecuted forassaulting Rodney King and in the aftermath of the ver-dict convicting the assailants of truck driver ReginaldDenny. The State was awarded $1 million.

❏ Waco standoff. In March 1993, the State of Texasrequested funds for overtime accrued by law enforce-ment officers of the Texas Department of Public Safetyand the McClennan County Sheriff’s Office who weredirectly engaged in the Waco standoff between theBranch Davidian religious sect and law enforcement.The State was awarded a grant of $625,312.

❏ Gainesville Homicide Task Force. In September1990, the State of Florida requested emergency fund-ing for its Gainesville Homicide Task Force. The taskforce was investigating five murders committed within1 week by a serial killer. Florida received an initial and

a supplemental award totaling $1.14 million for over-time, fringe benefit costs, travel, and for associatedexpenses such as aircraft operations, equipment rental,and office supplies.

❏ San Francisco earthquake. In December 1989, theState of California submitted an application requestingassistance for law enforcement’s response to the SanFrancisco earthquake. An award of $4.96 million wasapproved for law enforcement overtime, replacement orrepair of damaged equipment, and emergency repairs tocritical law enforcement facilities.

❏ Hurricane Hugo. In October and December of1989, the State of South Carolina submitted applica-tions requesting assistance for law enforcement’s re-sponse to Hurricane Hugo. Two awards totaling $2.7million were approved for law enforcement overtime,replacement or repair of damaged equipment, and emer-gency repairs to critical law enforcement facilities.

For Further InformationDetailed information about the EFLEA Program maybe found at Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations,Chapter 1, Part 65. The program is codified at Title 42,United States Code, Section 10501. An application kitwith additional information is available from:

Emergency Federal Law Enforcement Assistance(EFLEA) Program

Bureau of Justice Assistance633 Indiana Avenue NW.Washington, DC 20531202–616–2356

FS000034September 1996

BJA World Wide Web Address

For a copy of this document online,as well as more information on BJA,

check the BJA home page athttp://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA

EFLEA Fact Sheet

U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of Justice ProgramsBureau of Justice Assistance

Washington, DC 20531

Official BusinessPenalty for Private Use $300

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DOJ/BJAPermit No. G–91