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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cThe launch of the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center will provide our partners across the country with valuable resources to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others,\u201d said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. \u201cThe establishment of the Center is the latest example of the Justice Department\u2019s work to use every tool provided by the landmark Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to protect communities from gun violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
ERPO laws, which are modeled off domestic violence protection orders, create a civil process allowing law enforcement, family members (in most states), and medical professionals or other groups (in some states) to petition a court to temporarily prohibit someone at risk of harming themselves or others from purchasing and possessing firearms for the duration of the order.<\/p>\n
In 2023, the Justice Department\u2019s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) awarded $238 million to states, territories, and the District of Columbia under the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP), which was created by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and is designed to help jurisdictions implement crisis intervention strategies, including ERPO programs. In addition, OJP awarded $4 million to support training and technical assistance under Byrne SCIP, including $2 million that was awarded to the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions to establish the ERPO Resource Center. In collaboration with OJP\u2019s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Center will support states, local governments, law enforcement, prosecutors, attorneys, judges, clinicians, victim service providers, and behavioral health and other social service providers in their efforts to implement ERPO programs to fit local needs, share resources and promising practices with the field, and help ensure that funding received through Byrne SCIP is effectively utilized.<\/p>\n
\u201cSupporting our law enforcement and community partners in curbing the scourge of gun violence is more critical than ever,\u201d said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. \u201cIn addition to other resources leveraged across the Justice Department, this Center will provide communities with new tools and technical assistance to help them implement effective crisis intervention strategies and reduce gun violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOJP\u2019s investment in ERPO programs demonstrates the Department\u2019s commitment to addressing the gun violence crisis in the United States,\u201d said OJP Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon. \u201cThis crisis cannot be solved at one level of government. We must use all of our resources and collaborate at the federal, state, and local levels to find innovative, evidence-based, and holistic solutions to help keep American communities safe.\u201d<\/p>\n