FY 21 Project Safe Neighborhood

FY 2021 Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN)

Project Abstract

Proposed Project Period: October 1, 2021–September 30, 2024

The overall goal of the USAO-SC’s PSN Program is to promote safe communities across South Carolina through the reduction of violent crime with a special focus on areas with elevated gun violence and/or group or gang activity. Toward that goal, the program seeks to fund projects that will enhance progress toward the following priorities:

1.  Gun and Group-Related Crime Investigation/Suppression: Programs or task forces designed to target perpetrators of gun and group-related crimes. This can include the illegal possession of firearms, the illegal sale of guns or drugs, or other crimes committed to benefit a group or gang. Multi-agency cooperation amongst all levels of law enforcement should be demonstrated.

2.  Firearms Analysis and Ballistics Technology: Programs designed to enhance and/or provide support for local and state law enforcement agencies to better respond to and investigate firearms incidents and analyze firearms and ballistic evidence (including NIBIN analysis and firearms tracing).

3.  Data Analysis/Research Partner: Programs designed to assess and validate the nature and extent of gun, gang, and/or group-related crime in South Carolina. Data analysis to identify the drivers of violent crime and assess the effectiveness of an agency’s violent crime reduction plan.

4.  Prevention and Reentry Programs: Prevention programs dedicated to the education of South Carolina’s youth and young men and women on the dangers and legal penalties associated with gun violence and the identification of persons at high risk of offending. Such programs may be educational, faith-based, and/or community-oriented and may include outreach work. Reentry programs dedicated to the successful reintegration of offenders to society with housing, educational, and vocational partnerships.

The USAO-SC’s PSN Program is a statewide initiative with a concentrated effort in its four target enforcement areas: Charleston/North Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, and Myrtle Beach. The USAO-SC continues to engage a multitude of law enforcement partners throughout the district in its PSN Program, to include all federal law enforcement agencies, numerous state and local agencies, the South Carolina Department of Corrections, the United States Probation Office, the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services (SCDPPPS), and the 16 local solicitor’s offices (i.e., district attorneys) across South Carolina. These federal, state, and local partners are involved in the development and implementation of the District of South Carolina’s PSN strategies.