McGruff the Crime Dog is 30 years old. The animated, trenchcoat wearing dog, was created in 1980 to teach children and adults how to be safe and prevent crime, says MainJustice. The National Crime Prevention Council and the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs threw him a birthday party yesterday on the rooftop of the Venable LLP law firm building in Washington, D.C. Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson congratulated McGruff for his teaching children about reducing crime in their communities.
Until 2007, the McGruff program received a congressional earmark of Justice Department funds. Since then, the National Crime Prevention Council has obtained nearly $9 million in grants from the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Office for Victims of Crime for various programs. This included $400,000 in fiscal year 2009 for a Celebrate Safe Communities initiative. The Justice Department could not provide a scientific study showing the McGruff program's effectiveness.
