SALINAS, Calif. -- How much money would you shell out to fix the crime in Salinas?
On Thursday, Salinas city leaders announced it's getting $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice for another new program.
The city is going to set up an outreach group on the streets of Salinas to work with people who are impacted by crimes in their community to hopefully prevent violence.
But this grant for Project Safe Neighborhoods is just a drop in the bucket compared to the money the city has received in the last five years.
The police department alone received more than $10 million from agencies, including the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, the Center for Disease Control, and even local businesses.
"It never comes down to well if you get this grant problem's solved," said Dennis Donohue, Salinas mayor. "We're not there yet. This is another step. No one is suggesting this one solves all the problems. What we are suggesting is this is a grant that allows us to show that this approach can work, as it has in other communities, and it now becomes part of the toolkit."
In the last five years, the city of Salinas as a whole has been awarded more than $82 million.
These grants are funding everything from city capital infrastructure to public safety.
Salinas is one of 13 cities throughout the country to receive the PSN Grant Award.
The city was even recognized by the White House because of how it has dealt with crime.
