Topline: The Department of Justice’s “Weed & Seed” program had a noble goal of “weeding” out criminals and “seeding” crime prevention initiatives. But in 2008, the program used some of its $32 million Congressional appropriation not on police patrols and community safety groups, but to fund soccer games, hip-hop classes and more.
That’s according to the “Wastebook” reporting published by the late U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn. For years, these reports shined a white-hot spotlight on federal frauds and taxpayer abuses.
Coburn, the legendary U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, earned the nickname "Dr. No" by stopping thousands of pork-barrel projects using the Senate rules. Projects that he couldn't stop, Coburn included in his oversight reports.
Coburn's Wastebook 2008 included 65 examples of outrageous spending worth more than $1.3 billion, including the money spent on “Weed & Seed” — which would be worth $46.4 million today.
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.
Key facts: In both 1999 and 2004, the Government Accountability Office published reports warning officials that the Weed & Seed program had the potential to waste taxpayer money because it did not have “sound management practices.”
That was borne out in 2008. One police department in West Ashville, North Carolina used its Weed & Seed grant to host a “Shred-a-thon” where locals shredded cardboard boxes into mulch for a “Community Peace Garden.”
Youngstown, Ohio grant recipients provided lawnmower maintenance classes to local children. Allentown, Pennsylvania and Modesto, California both offered hip-hop and jazz dance classes.
One hundred sixth-graders in a Philadelphia school used grant funds to go on a camping trip. The spending was apparently justified because, as the school’s assistant principal lamented, “a great deal of time is focused on academics and little time is available for this type of experience.”
Indianapolis, Indiana spent part of its $1 million grant on an indoor soccer league and on buying paper traffic tickets.
The tickets, though, were not used for actual legal infractions. Police officers used them to notify locals who had left valuables inside their cars — just as a friendly reminder.
Perhaps drivers should have instead been warned about how much of their money was being spent on this so-called “crime prevention” measure.
Summary: The Weed & Seed program awarded grants to 300 cities over 19 years before it ended in 2010. How much money actually went toward fighting crime?
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