Norwalk committee authorizes police to apply for $18,382 DOJ JAG grant to fund overtime patrols at houses of worship

At its March 26 meeting, the Norwalk City Public Safety and General Government Committee voted to authorize Mayor Barbara Smith and Chief of Police James Walsh to execute documents to apply for a Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) of $18,382 to fund overtime patrols aimed at protecting houses of worship.

Chief of Police James Walsh told the committee the grant application is a routine, recurring opportunity the department pursues and that the listed award amount is $18,382. "The grant funding is the amount of $18,382," Walsh said, and the listed funding period shown in the opportunity is Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2026; he added that actual award dates and any precise funding period will be clarified if the city is awarded funds.

Walsh said the police department plans to use any awarded funds to pay overtime for increased patrols "to respond to and deter threats to houses of worship and other religious institutions, including religious schools." He described the rationale as a response to recent targeting of religious institutions for violence and vandalism and said the funds would be dedicated to that purpose.

Council members pressed for details on how patrols would be allocated. Walsh said patrols would be a mix of scheduled coverage for high-risk dates and responsive assignments: "We'll divide it up based on what's going on — if a house of worship contacts us and says, 'we have something major going on, we'd like to have an officer there,' we can utilize the funds for that." He cited heightened coverage around religious holidays (for example, Passover, Rosh Hashanah and year-end holidays) and said officers will perform sector checks, drive-bys and half-hour visibility stops when staffing and calls-for-service permit.

Council Member S. thanked police for the proactive approach and voiced support for the application, saying the department is "doing everything they can to keep us safe." A committee member asked whether Norwalk had received many threats; Walsh said the city had not seen many recently but that threats in other cities prompted higher vigilance.

The committee moved the authorization to apply for the JAG funding and the chair called for the vote. Members indicated assent and the chair said the result "looks unanimous." The action authorizes the city to apply; it does not accept or obligate award funds. If Norwalk is awarded the grant, the committee said it will return at a future meeting to accept the funding and any grant terms.

Procedural items at the start of the session included approval of minutes from the Jan. 22, 2026 meeting (the record shows one abstention by a member who missed that meeting) and closure of the public participation period after staff reported there were no speakers.

Next steps: the police department will submit the application under the DOJ/BJA FY25 JAG opportunity; committee members said they expect to vote in a future meeting to accept and allocate any awarded funds.