Rhode Island Project Safe Neighborhoods Urban Corridor

The Rhode Island Project Safe Neighborhood Task Force first came together in 2019. This Task Force represented a “big picture” look at the drivers of crime in larger Rhode Island municipalities. The group created the Urban Corridor strategy, which is based on the understanding that today’s violent criminals are highly mobile and interconnected by social media, with urban communities, both large and small, experiencing similar challenges. These common challenges have been identified as:

Gang related violence associated with night clubs; particularly late night/closing time violent altercations sometimes associated with violent actors from outside of their respective communities.
The rise in fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking across all urban communities in Rhode Island.
The need for aggressive tracing/tracking of firearms across communities (shooters’ firearms often are held by partners/associates residing in neighboring cities - holding the weapons for gang members from across municipalities).
Mental health challenges resulting in violence after over a year of COVID-19 related lockdowns.

The Urban Corridor strategy seeks to address these challenges through improved information-sharing across jurisdictions, better coordination between state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies, and stronger support for non-profit organizations involved in street outreach, violence intervention, and hospital-based violence interruption. The PSN Task Force and the fiscal agent will work to make sure that this effort is coordinated to compliment other ongoing projects in Rhode Island that are dedicated to reducing violent crime.