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Project Safe Neighborhoods: America’s Network Against Gun Violence
OVERVIEW
Project Safe Neighborhoods is a comprehensive, strategic approach to reducing gun crime in America. The various crime reduction initiatives in the past decade have taught us that, to have a truly significant impact, the federal government must do more than just increase its arrest and prosecution numbers. Our efforts must be comprehensive. We must build effective partnerships with our state and local counterparts. We must enhance our capacity to obtain and analyze crime and other data that should guide our strategies and afford us the opportunity to measure the impact of our efforts. We must maintain an edge in the attack on gun crime by providing expansive and comprehensive training for federal, state, and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors. We must convey the priorities, message, and results of our efforts to the media and community members. And we must build a powerful and lasting coalition with our citizens - one that empowers them to be agents of change in their own communities.
This Administration is committed to an all-out assault on gun crime and will provide the resources necessary for Project Safe Neighborhoods' success. The Administration has committed over one billion dollars to this effort over four years. This funding is being used to hire new federal and state prosecutors, support investigators, provide training, distribute gun lock safety kits, deter juvenile gun crime, and develop and promote community outreach efforts as well as to support other gun crime reduction strategies.
THE CHALLENGE
Despite an overall decline in the number of gun homicides during the last fifteen years, gun crime in America remains intolerably high. All told, two-thirds of the nation's 16,000 homicides in 2002 were committed with guns.
Nearly half a million people are victims of non-fatal firearm crime each year. Of particular alarm is the high toll gun crime takes on young people. Almost one-third of those murdered in 2002 were between the ages of 13 and 24. Eighty-two percent of murder victims aged 13 to 24 were killed with a gun in 2002. Young people also use guns to commit criminal acts. In 2002, nearly half of all known murderers were between the ages of 13 and 24, and the majority of these criminals used firearms to kill their victims.
Individual cities and states have begun to respond effectively to this epidemic of gun crime. Model firearms programs, such as Project Exile in Richmond, VA, and Operation Ceasefire in Boston, MA, have achieved success in many large cities throughout the country. It is this Administration's task to expand upon these successes by giving all United States Attorneys both a mandate and a framework for creating an effective gun crime reduction program.
PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS - A COMPREHENSIVE ENFORCEMENT STRATEGY
There are five essential elements required for a vigorous and successful gun crime reduction strategy: 1) Partnership, 2) Strategic Planning, 3) Training, 4) Community Outreach and Public Awareness, and 5) Accountability. Mindful of the varying problems facing each district, this initiative does not mandate a "one-size-fits-all" approach that supplants effective strategies already in place in each district. Instead, these elements will be tailored to the needs of each individual district and the gun crime problem therein.
To effectively deploy the substantial resources dedicated to this effort, each district has designated a Project Safe Neighborhoods point of contact in the United States Attorney's Office to serve as the project coordinator and help streamline communication about the initiative. Each United States Attorney is also encouraged to create a specialized unit within his or her office to target the most significant gun crime problems within the district to maximize the impact of this initiative and help ensure the safety of our nation's communities.
To complement the efforts of these specialized units, the Department of Justice created a Firearms Enforcement Assistance Team (FEAT) network comprised of persons with expertise in the core elements of Project Safe Neighborhoods. This network will assist the districts with their implementation efforts.
The five elements essential to a vigorous and successful gun violence reduction plan are outlined below.
PARTNERSHIPS: The United States Attorney in each judicial district is uniquely situated to bring together all law enforcement agencies to ensure a uniform and comprehensive approach to reduce gun crime. This initiative involves every United States Attorney in the coordination of all gun-related programs at the federal, state and local level within the district. The tired old rivalries and competing agendas that sometimes exist among law enforcement officials must give way to strategic partnerships focused on community safety. Each partnership will form a team of federal and local officials to review and prepare gun cases for prosecution in the most appropriate forum.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Of vital importance to the success of any law enforcement partnership is the formation of a strategic plan to attack gun crime. United States Attorneys have a vast array of enforcement weapons to use in developing those plans. The enforcement mix will depend on the specific causes of gun crime in the community, the availability of law enforcement resources, and the expected outcome of each approach. Although the specific approach to combating gun crime will accordingly vary from district to district, this initiative asks each United States Attorney to incorporate three national priorities in his or her strategic plan. Those priorities are as follows:
- increased prosecution of violent organizations using federal conspiracy, racketeering, narcotics, and all other available laws aggressively to attack and punish violent drug traffickers, violent street gangs, and violent robbery rings;
- heightened enforcement of all federal laws against illegal gun traffickers, as well as corrupt federal firearms licensees that supply them, with an emphasis on those gun traffickers who supply illegal firearms to violent organizations and to juveniles; and,
- renewed aggressive enforcement of federal firearms laws against those persons prohibited from possessing firearms or who use firearms in furtherance of illegal activities, including those persons denied under the Brady Act.
Each strategic plan should reflect the three national priorities, but the individualized district plans, like the specific gun crime problem, will have unique features. For example, in one district, a proactive plan to target domestic violence may be appropriate, while in another district, a strategic plan to target armed robberies may be more productive. The goal of each United States Attorney's plan is the same - to reduce the levels of gun crime - but the solution will vary depending on the particular problems facing each district.
Creating a tailored strategic plan requires several steps. First, the United States Attorney and his or her partners must assess the nature and scope of gun-related crime in the district and/or the major metropolitan areas within the district. Only by understanding the specific dynamics of the local crime problem can the partnership effectively deploy resources to make a lasting reduction in crime in the district. Having identified the most significant problems, United States Attorneys and their partners can develop focused strategies aimed at reducing gun-related crime. The plan should be specific about its goals and the means for achieving them.
All partners must then work together to implement the plan. Rarely will a United States Attorney's Office, acting alone, have a significant and lasting impact on gun crime. The most successful plans are those that utilize the skills of each partner for a comprehensive and coordinated response to the identified local problems. Finally, once the plan is implemented, the partnership must continually evaluate it to determine whether it is having the desired impact. If the plan is not resulting in its intended effects, it is critical to then reexamine the plan and the data to determine how to modify it. Conversely, if the data indicate that the plan is having a positive impact, the United States Attorneys and their partners can ensure that they continue to devote the necessary resources to the effort.
TRAINING: Specialized training is essential for participants to keep current on laws and trends that affect law enforcement. To maintain an edge in the attack on gun crime, this initiative mandates more expansive and comprehensive training for federal, state, and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors. As part of this initiative, the Justice Department (including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) has partnered with the National District Attorneys Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and local law enforcement to conduct innovative regional cross-training involving prosecutors, agents and officers involved in gun crime cases. This training addresses firearms identification, safety, federal and state firearms statutes, federal and state search and seizure laws, crime scene and evidence management, firearms trafficking and tracing, and strategic planning.
Project Safe Neighborhoods also relies on a variety of other ongoing training programs, including, among others: (1) the annual PSN Conference; (2) Violent Crimes Seminars for federal prosecutors at the National Advocacy Center; (3) local firearms trafficking training conducted by ATF; (4) the International Association of Chiefs of Police Crime Gun Interdiction and Investigation Technical Assistance Project; (5) ATF training for federal firearms licensees; and (6) PSN Enforcement Trainings on illegal firearms interdiction.
United States Attorneys are also encouraged to design and conduct their own training programs at the local level. The United States Attorney is best suited to organize and schedule regional and local training so that key law enforcement personnel, both local and federal, are able to develop and maintain the skills necessary to make this initiative a success.
Go to our training page for a complete overview of PSN Training opportunities and programs.
OUTREACH: Community outreach and public awareness constitute essential components of any successful gun crime reduction plan. By conveying the priorities, message, and results of this enhanced enforcement effort to the media and community members, the United States Attorney can help shape the attitudes of law-abiding citizens and those who would otherwise believe they can violate our gun laws with impunity.
Additionally, the Department of Justice has launched two national Public Service Advertising campaigns aimed at reducing gun crime. A new public service advertising campaign was launched on September 23, 2003: “Gun Crimes Hit Home.” A critical element of every local gun crime reduction initiative is an aggressive community outreach campaign that couples a strong enforcement message with prevention and education messages. At the core of this community outreach campaign is the message of prevention, while warning criminals that they will do “hard time for gun crime.” This message is already being used effectively across the nation. The Department of Justice, in collaboration with the Ad Council and the National Crime Prevention Council, has also developed a new PSA campaign focusing on prevention. The PSA campaign’s theme is “When you commit a gun crime, your family pays the price.” The campaign focuses on the many consequences that occur when guns are used illegally.
ACCOUNTABILITY: Careful and consistent review of gun crime reduction efforts is necessary for an effective and proactive gun crime reduction strategy. If we are to target our resources strategically, we must continually evaluate the problems we face and the efficacy of our response, both at the local and national level.
To encourage the United States Attorneys to assess regularly the effectiveness of their plans and the emerging trends in their districts, the Attorney General will ask them to report, semi-annually, on several aspects of their Project Safe Neighborhoods implementation efforts. The report provides an opportunity to describe fully the gun crime problems in each district, as well as the strategies the Project Safe Neighborhoods coalition is employing to combat those problems. Each United States Attorney will be asked to report on four general areas: (1) the nature of the partnerships with other federal agencies, state and local law enforcement, and the community; (2) the nature and prevalence of gun crime in the community, the strategies adopted to address that gun crime, and how the impact of those strategies is measured; (3) how the local gun crime initiative is being publicized; and (4) whether the partnership has taken advantage of training opportunities and/or conducted trainings at the local level.
These reports will be reviewed by a team chaired by the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and comprised of individuals with expertise in each of the five Project Safe Neighborhoods elements. The team will provide feedback to the districts, identify model programs to share with other jurisdictions, and provide assistance to districts encountering difficulties implementing particular elements of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative.
RESOURCES
The implementation of this initiative will be accompanied by a substantial commitment of resources for United States Attorneys and state and local law enforcement officials. United States Attorneys will also have several tools especially designed for this initiative at their disposal.
Funding in Support of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN)
The Administration has devoted over one billion dollars to PSN in its first four years (FY 2001 to FY 2004). The funds have been used to hire new federal, state, and local prosecutors; provide training; hire research and community outreach support; distribute gun lock safety kits; and develop and promote effective prevention and deterrence efforts as well as to support other local gun crime reduction strategies. PSN has funded the following programs:
Over 200 new federal prosecutors have been hired to focus on gun crime.
Approximately $63 million in grants have been made available to hire approximately 540 new state and local gun prosecutors to focus on gun crime.
In FY 2001, ATF hired nearly 300 additional agents who are available to investigate gun crimes.
The national PSN training and technical assistance partners have trained more than 11,000 individuals across the nation who work to make our communities safer. Local PSN programs have organized training for many thousands more.
FY 2004 Congressional appropriations allocate approximately $247.9 million to the initiative, an $86.6 million reduction from the President’s request.
The FY 2005 budget request includes a $3 million enhancement for the Executive Office for United States Attorneys to fund an additional 32 PSN positions.
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