Partners: Borough of Tamaqua Police Department, Tamaqua Area Community Partnership, Sexual Assault Resource & Counseling Center
Focus areas: Community Engagement, Personnel, Sexual Violence & Assault
The Borough of Tamaqua’s Police Department, with a total staff of 21, is the primary law enforcement agency for a population of 7,000. The Tamaqua Police Department and other community stakeholders report a recent increase in sexual violence victim assessments for their jurisdiction as well as youth survey results from area schools indicating troubling trends in bullying based on gender and sexual orientation. Alongside key community partners the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership and the Sexual Assault Resource & Counseling Center, the Department aims to build long-term community capacity to prevent and respond to incidents of sexual violence and sexual assault.
The Tamaqua project will fund staff time for key police department personnel to participate in project training and investigative activities, provide capacity to project partners for community outreach, education, and training efforts, and support a cross-sector team infrastructure to guide overall project implementation. The Tamaqua RVCRI project aims to bolster support for survivors of sexual violence while holding perpetrators accountable through increased capacity and coordination among project partners.
RVCRI is an effort funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to assist rural communities seeking to address violent crime.
The DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance is supporting data-driven, comprehensive responses to crime in some of the country’s most troubled communities through BCJI.