SERVE Our Communities Act
The SERVE Our Communities Act would create a new federal grant program administered by the Attorney General (through the Bureau of Justice Assistance) to provide up to $10 million each year from fiscal years 2026 through 2031 to eligible states and units of local government. The purpose is to support efforts to stop enabling repeat violence. To be eligible, a state or local government must allow courts to consider the danger a person poses to the community when deciding bail or pretrial release, and must have taken steps in the prior year to reduce repeat violent offenses. Those steps can include enacting law changes to allow risk-based bail considerations, increasing funding for law enforcement and prosecutorial staffing, or running public education programs aimed at improving community-police relations. Grant funds may be used for activities aligned with the Second Chance Act’s provisions (Section 211(b)). The definitions of “State” and “unit of local government” follow existing federal crime-control law.
Key Points
- 1Establishes the SERVE Our Communities Grant Program, funded by the Department of Justice (via the Bureau of Justice Assistance) to support state and local efforts to curb repeat violence.
- 2Eligibility criteria require: (1) allowing courts to consider the danger a person poses when setting bail/pretrial release, and (2) taking actions in the previous year to prevent repeat violent offenses (either via new bail-law provisions, expanding law enforcement/prosecutorial staff, or public education to improve police-community relations).
- 3Authorized uses of grant funds are those described in Section 211(b) of the Second Chance Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. 60531(b)).
- 4Annual funding of $10,000,000 is authorized for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2031.
- 5Definitions for “State” and “unit of local government” align with their definitions in the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10251).