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City Seen Loser .

·;In Crime Grants· By DUANE1tINER Constitution Wa1hington Bureau WASHINGTON- Atlanta was cited Tuesday by the National League of Cities (NLC) as an example of how federal planning · funds provided under the omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act ·of. 1968 are not being channeled in Uie proper di- _rectian. ~ " 3 , - / ) - C , 5 { " " ~- Sta'-;,ticrime tund Distribution ·Criticized .&aaata Joana) Waablnsion Bureau 647 JlfaU.al Praa llalldlns WASHINGTON-The Georgia Plamting Bul'eau has been criticized by the National League of Cities for its handling of federal funds under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. At a Tuesday press conference here, Allen Pritchard, assistant director of the NLC, cited Georgia as a bad example of the way the funds are being handled. pointing out the Atlanta metropolitan area has 30 per cent of · the state's population and 6-0 per cent of its street crime, yet received only 15 per cent of the .initial p l ~ grant funds allocated to the state under the 1U68 act. The State Planning Bureau, which distributes the federal money to regional planning groups, gave the Atlanta area only $33,750 of a total state grant of $403,750. The grants are intended to establish initial local crime~ontrol planning. Pritchard b l a s t e d Georgia along with 23 other recently surveyed states for spreading initial planning money ' 'without re· gard to capability to do criminal justice planning or considering the inte111Sity of crime in the area covered." But it was noted Georgia's area planning and development commissions "are established, have some staffing and rather extensive involvement by local government officials." The NLC official called upon the U.S. Justice Department for , . - . 'The funds are funneled by the Justice department to the states and thence to area planning agencies. Allen Pitchard, assistant NLC executive director1 said the · Atlanta metropolitan a-rea acc0tmts for 6-0 per cent of the street crime in Georgia and 30 per cent of the state's population but received only 15 per cent of the safe-street planning grant a,llocated to Georgia. "Our point has been that in 24 of the 31 states we surveyed, 1 they had set up over 200 area-wide planning operations, and the money for planning was being spread around without regard to capability to do criminal justice planning or intelhsity of crime in the area covered," Pritchard declared at a news conference. Under the present system , it is impossible to "really get into the problem in any signi ficant way at all," Pritchard main,iained. Poirvting ,to an area plaM.ing agency in one state that reooived only $850, Pritdlard ~ id the intent ci Coogress in pass-ing the Safe Streets Act was 1'to get at areas of high-crime .iocidence, and not just -to plan universally ." , Pritchard noted, however, that Georgia's area pl;uming and developmerit commissions "are established, have ~ staffing and rather extensive involvement · by local government of. ficials ." He said it was "not quit.e as difficult as in some states where they set up an organization arbitrarily for safe street ' planning that doesn't represent anybody." · The National League of Cities 88id it was not advocating that the Justice department dictate how states should use their Safe Streets Act grants but called upon the department to , tighten surveillance "to see that it will actnally produce plans, and focus money in high~rime areas ." Georgia's Safe Streets Act grant is administered by the

State Planning Bureau, a division of the governor's office.

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closer surveinance on states to see that they actually pml 1cf crime-fighting programs and concentrate in high crime ;irea.'! ' I �