Fort Lauderdale Police Department: Project Safe Streets

The Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program, administered by the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP's) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), furthers the Department's mission by assisting state and local jurisdictions in improving the criminal justice system and assisting communities in preventing drug abuse and crime. In fiscal year 2007, the Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program will focus on funding local, regional, and national efforts within six major categories: 1) targeting violent crime; 2) preventing crime and drug abuse; 3) enhancing local law enforcement; 4) enhancing local courts; 5) enhancing local corrections and offender reentry; and 6) facilitating justice information sharing. All categories combat, address, or otherwise respond to precipitous or extraordinary increases in crime, or in a type or types of crime.

The City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department (FLPD) will implement Project Safe Streets under Category 1: Targeting Violent Crime. Project Safe Streets is a comprehensive, strategic response to a recent increase in violent crime in the Fort Lauderdale community. The initiative has three primary goals. The first is to reduce the occurrence of violent crimes in identified 'hot spots.' This will be accomplished by identifying career criminals and high-crime areas and responding with targeted enforcement operations. The second goal is to reduce the public's risk of becoming victims of crime. To this end, the FLPD will participate in public events and distribute educational materials regarding crime prevention as well as information on crime-reporting hotline systems. The third goal is to increase collaboration and communication of investigative efforts among other law enforcement agencies. By participating in multi-jurisdictional task force meetings and sharing intelligence information, FLPD anticipates an increase in arrests and a subsequent decrease in violent crime statistics.

CA/NCF