Grambling State News

Grambling, La. – December 8, 2023 – The Grambling State University Police Department (GSUPD) has been awarded a $400,000 grant to establish a comprehensive, community approach to combat domestic violence, dating, and other violence against women.

Entitled the Grambling State University (GSUPD) Special Victims Unit (SVU) for Prevention & Advocacy Program, the project will be carried out through the university’s Police Department.

The grant was one of 52 awarded from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) initiative, totaling nearly $22 million nationwide. The grant will be overseen by GSU Chief of Police Rodney Demery, who said that activities involving grant funding will begin right away.

“The grant is in line with our mission as a police department and incredibly timely,” Demery said. “Our aim is to address issues of dating violence, power-based violence, violence against women, and sexual assault. The monies will allow us the opportunity to employ a specialist in the subject, training for our faculty, staff, and students, and partnerships with others in law enforcement, counselors, and advocacy groups. It’s simply an opportunity to advance our efforts toward an informed and safer environment for our most valued asset — our students. We are thrilled to receive it.”

Through the grant, GSUPD will: create a coordinated community response team to oversee all planning and implementation activities; provide prevention programming, including bystander intervention and ongoing prevention activities to all students on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; provide ongoing training to all campus law enforcement on how to effectively respond to these crimes; provide access to 24-hour confidential victim services and advocacy; and conduct ongoing training for all personnel in the campus resolution process.

Program activities through the grant will begin this month and will continue through September 2026.