At its most recent meeting, the Pine Bluff City Council approved a resolution creating the position of gang violence reduction coordinator and setting aside $500,000 from the American Rescue Plan money to cover the salary and benefits for that position for five years.
The action is a follow-up to the gang reduction intervention program (GRIP) that was created almost a year ago by Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr., and Juvenile Court Judge Earnest Brown.
Appearing on the Oldies 1013 morning show last week, Woods was asked about the council’s actions.
Woods went on to say that Governor Asa Hutchinson and the State Department of Education provided money as a start-up for the program after a federal grant fell through but they realized that the money was not enough to hire a coordinator for the program.
