Nevada Partnerships to reduce gang-related violent crime and School Violence

The Office of Criminal Justice Assistance (OCJA) was selected as the fiscal agent by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada’s (USAO-Nevada) 2022 Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Team.

Nevada’s crime rates are higher than the national rates for both violent and property crimes. In Nevada, the odds of falling victim to violent crime are 5.4 out of 1,000. Nationwide, those chances fall to 3.7 in 1,000. Between 2014 and 2019, there were 17 mass shootings in Nevada resulting in 496 injuries and 73 deaths. In Nevada aggravated assault was the most common violent crime, accounting for 61% of all incidents. Las Vegas is the largest city in Nevada with a population of 2,231,647 per the 2020 census. Crime rate in Las Vegas per 1,000 was 6.1% according to the 2020 numbers reported by “The State of Safety in Nevada”, SafeWise. 

The Safe Schools Initiative (SSI) program will be a joint project between Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) and Clark County School District Police Department (CCSDPD) to mitigate the increase of violent acts and weapons possession by juveniles on campus and in the neighborhoods. LVMPD and CCSPD will engage in enforcement activities on school property and neighborhoods in areas statistically proven to be “hot spots”. LVMPD and CCSDPD will partner to conduct consensual home visits with families of juveniles who are involved in lower-level criminal activities or weapons possession to steer them away from violence, provide counseling & education.

LVMPD will utilize evidence-based strategies such as Community Oriented Policing, Focused Deterrence, and Hot Spots Policing to combat the growing problem of gang and gun related violence. To compliment and expand on the law enforcement component of the grant, the PSN Team determined to use grant funds for a simultaneous effort by law enforcement to coordinate with the Clark County School District and community partners to create a program aimed at intervention/prevention, and outreach to at-risk youth.

The FY22 PSN Program will focus on fostering meaningful partnerships with local law enforcement in Las Vegas, school engagement, prosecution, and involvement with community organizations to reduce gang-related violence and make the communities safer. The FY22 PSN grant funding will be used to build rapport with community leaders, enhance lines of communication, and enhance mechanisms for seeking community support to identify and report on gang activities through a community outreach component.