LAWFUEL – The Law Newswire – WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today announced three grant awards to Florida totaling more than $1.8 million in Anti-Gang Initiative funding to combat gang violence and increase gang prevention efforts under the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Initiative.
The Attorney General has identified gang activity as an increasing deadly threat to the safety and security of our nation’s citizens and has made gang prevention and anti-gang enforcement a top priority.
The funds, administered by the Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance within the Justice Department, will be utilized to reduce gang activity in Florida through efforts led by the United States Attorneys for the Southern District of Florida, the Middle District of Florida, and the Northern District of Florida. These efforts include coordinated federal, state, and local enforcement aimed at reducing violent gang-related incidents, and evidence-based gang prevention and intervention focused on increasing positive outcomes for youth at high risk for gang involvement.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in America. The effectiveness of PSN is based on the ability of local, state, and federal agencies to cooperate in a unified offensive led by the U.S. Attorney (USA) in each of the 94 federal judicial districts across the United States. Through collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement, each USA will implement the five core elements of Project Safe Neighborhoods—partnerships, strategic planning, training, outreach, and accountability—in a manner that is contoured to fit the specific gun crime problems in that district. The goal is to create safer neighborhoods by reducing gun violence and sustaining that reduction. The Attorney General’s Anti-Gang initiative builds on the effective partnerships and strategies developed through PSN to support anti-gang enforcement and prevention efforts and to provide training and technical assistance.
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Assistant Attorney General Regina B. Schofield, provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. OJP has five component bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime. Additionally, OJP has two program offices: the Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporates the Weed and Seed strategy, and the Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) Office. More information can be found at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov.
