FY 2023 Project Safe Neighborhoods Formula Grant Program

The latest Census data has estimated that there are 1,377,529 people residing in the State of New Hampshire. Violent crime in the State is generally one of the lowest in the nation, however, some communities continue to face challenges, specifically, the State’s urban areas that continue to see certain types of violent crime that are more problematic. 

According to the FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2021 had 1,585 all violent crime incidents, and 1,691 offenses reported in New Hampshire, which covers approximately 96% of the total population.  Manchester, the state’s most populous city of approximately 115,000, has the most significant challenges with violent crime, and more specifically gun crime.

The New Hampshire Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Task Force Committee assisted in the creation of the proposal for this grant.  This PSN Task Force Committee is comprised of members from federal, state, and local law enforcement, and community partners.  A selection committee is established from the PSN Task Force Committee members who are nonfederal, nonconflicted PSN team members with the responsibility to vote on the distribution of funding.

The PSN Task Force Selection Committee has identified the need to focus this funding to support the design feature entitled Focused and Strategic Enforcement. This selection is to address violent crime by focusing initiatives strategically on a limited number of problem places and individuals driving violent crime.

The PSN Task Force Committee are considering a proposal to fund hot spot patrols, which are focused patrols in high crime areas, in the cities that comprise some of the larger and more urban communities in New Hampshire with this funding.

Additionally, a program proposed by the Manchester Police Department that would be a collaborative initiative between the New Hampshire Department of Corrections Probation and Parole, the Manchester Police Department, the Nashua Police Department, and the Berlin Police Department is being considered by the PSN Task Force Committee.  It includes a focus on prolific offenders and drivers of violence in the community.  The high number of serious offenders on supervision coupled with significant caseloads carried by probation officers makes it difficult to achieve appropriate levels of community supervision such as in person checks with offenders.  

This program satisfies the 30% gang enforcement requirement as it will focus primarily on gang and criminal group-related offenders.