Project Safe Neighborhoods: Funding Opportunities
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
OVERVIEW
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN)
is a comprehensive strategic approach to reducing gun violence. Overall, the
administration seeks to commit $558 million to this effort for 2 years. This
funding will be used to hire new federal and state prosecutors, support
investigators, provide training, and develop and promote community outreach.
The Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is making a
total of $32 million available for awards to Project Safe Neighborhoods Task
Forces formed in the 94 U.S. Attorney districts to decrease gun violence and
aggressively prosecute persons who commit crimes with firearms. Two key elements
were identified for funding: (1) crime analysis to ensure that these new task
forces have the tools they need to inform their strategy for action and to
measure the progress of their work and (2) community outreach.
Under the PSN initiative, grants are being awarded in four categories. They
are:
Category 1 - The Research Partner/Crime Analyst Grant Program
This program supports research to
analyze firearms-related violent crime data, develop data-driven interventions,
and measure the effectiveness of those interventions in reducing firearm-related
violent crime. Approximately 94 grants (up to $150,000 each), representing each
of the U.S. Attorney's Districts, are being made in this program. The project
period for the research partner/crime analyst extends for three years.
The program is designed to support
the strategic planning and accountability components of the PSN Initiative. The
goals of this program are (1) to increase the capacity of PSN Task Forces to
design data-driven strategies that produce measurable decreases in
firearm-related violent crime and (2) to improve the long-term ability of
federal, state, and local partners to work together to understand, prosecute,
and prevent firearm-related violent crime within their jurisdictions.
Unlike traditional research
involving neutral observations, PSN expects research partners to be fully
engaged in problem solving throughout the entire PSN process. In order to bring
knowledge of crime control and prevention theories into the local PSN strategy
development and design process, the research partner will identify, collect, and
analyze data and street-level information, and report the findings back to the
task force. The research partner is responsible for documenting the process,
evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention(s), and based upon results,
making recommendations to the task forces on possible strategic adjustments.
Project Safe Neighborhoods: Funding
Opportunities
Category 2: The Media Outreach and Community Engagement
Program
This program provides funding to
PSN Task forces to (1) aggressively promote the message that all firearm-related
violent crime will be met with strict enforcement and swift and certain
punishment; (2) to encourage citizens to work with local, state, and federal law
enforcement to address firearm-related violent crime within their jurisdiction;
and (3) to promote gun safety at the local level. Approximately 94 grants (up to
$170,000 each), representing each of the U.S. Attorney's Districts, are being
made in this program. The project period for the community engagement initiative
grants extends at least two years.
This
effort is paramount to the efforts to promote the activities of the task forces
and will provide the local community with information on gun-related violence
and gun safety. PSN Task Forces will be able to produce and distribute
literature, sponsor local workshops, and create radio, television, and other
related advertising messages. Advertising messages include public service
announcements, educational literature, crime prevention tool kits, billboard
advertisements, press releases, and news articles.
Category 3: Project
Sentry
The purpose of Project Sentry is to support a
federal-state partnership to better coordinate state, federal, and local efforts
to identify and appropriately prosecute, punish and supervise juveniles who
violate federal and state firearms laws. This funding initiative will provide
assistance to communities for juvenile prosecution and supervision projects with
the goal of lowering gun offenses and gun violence among youths. They will help
to determine the extent and nature of the juvenile gun offenses and gun violence
in the community, and find the best or most innovative approaches to address the
problem. Such approaches may include one, or any combination of, the elements of
identifying and investigating juvenile gun crimes, and prosecuting and
supervising the offenders.
In FY 2002, $20 million was appropriated for Project
Sentry. Thirty six counties applied and are being awarded grants that range from
$200,000 to $1 million, depending on the population of the county. The grants
extend a minimum of 24 months to 36 months. Counties were selected based upon
their juvenile arrest rate for violent crime index offenses and the county
population. Prosecuting attorneys for the each of these sites will be offered
the opportunity to develop a program with this funding. Should the prosecutor's
office decide not coordinate this program, they may designate another
appropriate applicant (e.g., probation office, county executive, etc.).
Category 4: The Reducing Community
Gun Violence Open Solicitation
In Fiscal Year 2002, OJP set aside $12 million
dollars for this grant program, which is funding proposals for locally crafted
and innovative responses to gun violence. OJP is making 41 awards for up to
$250,000 to units of state and local government under for a grant period of up
to 24 months. The demonstration projects are being awarded under three
categories: (1) gun violence prevention, community outreach, and education; (2)
enforcement, adjudication, and supervision programs; and (3) other innovative
projects.
More information about Project Safe
Neighborhoods is available at:
http://www.projectsafeneighborhoods.gov/
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