Minnesota District, Project Safe Neighborhood Initiative

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a nationwide commitment to reducing gun crime, links existing local programs together and provides them with necessary tools. PSN 1) takes a hard line against gun criminals, using every available means to create safer neighborhoods; 2) seeks to achieve heightened coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement; and 3) emphasizes tactical intelligence gathering, more aggressive prosecutions, and enhanced accountability through performance measures. The United States Attorney in each federal judicial district will lead the offensive. The fiscal agent, in coordination with the PSN Task Force, will allocate funds throughout the community.

The District of Minnesota plans to use FY07 PSN funds to focus on reducing gun violence and related crimes on the major Indian reservations in the state, with particular attention paid to Red Lake, a federal-jurisdiction reservation. The PSN Task Force has utilized a multi-disciplinary approach to address this issue, employing both enforcement and prevention strategies.

The District plans to continue to fund: 1) the Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force (HSTTF) Coordinator to encourage coordination of cases that involve the Minneapolis-metro area and Indian Country; 2) the Department of Corrections investigator to monitor, evaluate, and provide field investigators with information about phone calls placed and received by state prison inmates, concentrating on calls involving inmates who are confirmed or suspected members of the Native Mob; and 3) the Crime Prevention/Community Organizer on the Red Lake Reservation to act as a liaison between law enforcement and the community. Finally, the District will contract with the Wilder Research Center to provide program evaluation.

NCA/NCF