Northern District of Ohio - FY 2007 Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program

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 Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, serving as the fiscal agent for the Northern District of Ohio, will use the PSN funds to combat the rapidly rising gun crime in the City of Cleveland. Specifically, the District will use the grant funds to: fund officer overtime, as part of the Firearms Suppression Initiative, to aggressively enforce gun crime, gather intelligence, and inspect gun shows and stores for compliance with gun laws; and fund overtime for an IBN-trained technician to enter ballistics data into NIBIN in order to increase the system's ability to aid in solving gun crimes. The U.S. Marshals' Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) will focus their operations on Cuyahoga, Summit, Lucas, Mahoning, Richland, and Allen Counties. NOVFTF will use some of the grant funds to: fund a NOVFTF Coordinator position within Linndale and Toledo Police Departments and Mahoning County Sheriff's Office to coordinate operations and provide administrative support to the Task Force; pay for five officers to attend the annual NOVFTF conference, which promotes officer safety through the provision of training, information sharing, and collaboration; lease four vehicles for NOVFTF operations on the street; purchase protective gear and tactical equipment for front-line law enforcement; and fund overtime for NOVFTF officers to apprehend fugitives.

NCA/NCF