Identify neighborhoods in the South Patrol Area of the City of St. Louis and in St. Louis County where violent crimes are committed by gangs.

The Anti-Gang Initiative provides funds to support new or expanded anti-gang enforcement and prevention efforts under the existing Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Initiative. These new funds may be used by the PSN task force to combat gangs by leveraging current strategies and partnerships developed under PSN initiatives or may be used to develop new anti-gang initiatives. The Anti-Gang initiative will be led by the United States Attorney in each of the 94 federal judicial districts across America. Grant funds will be awarded to a single fiscal agent in each of the 94 districts. The fiscal agent, in coordination with the PSN task force, will allocate the funds throughout the community to support the anti-gang initiative in that community.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department serves as the fiscal agent for the Missouri Eastern District's Anti-gang Initiative. The Missouri Eastern District will utilize the 2007 Anti-Gang Initiative award to identify neighborhoods in the south patrol area of the City of St. Louis and in St. Louis County where violent crimes are committed by gangs. The goal of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's project is to reduce the occurrence of gang violence as it relates to robberies, aggravated assaults, and auto theft in District One, thereby improving the quality of life for citizens. District officers and agents will work overtime projects that will target neighborhoods, specific gangs, and known gang members considered to be violent offenders. A database will be developed with known gang members and their photos as well as files that document a member's crime of choice, area of activity, and known associates. This intelligence will be available upon the entrance and release from correctional facilities in an effort to dismantle the area's organized and unorganized gangs.

The St. Louis County Police Department is proposing to develop a strategy of strict enforcement of Federal, State, and local laws and will focus on gathering intelligence to combat the gangs' activities. This strategy will include the creation and launch of the 'Neighborhood Enforcement Team' within the Division of Patrol under the command of the North County Precinct Commander. Grant funds will be utilized to hire a patrol officer to track and enforce gang activity within the target area and for overtime for additional officers that would be assisting with this initiative. The goals of this project are to: 1) Reduce Part 1 crimes (specifically gang related homicides, aggravated assaults, and robberies) by five percent; 2) Reduce gang violence and gang-related incidents within the target area; 3) Identify gangs and members within the target area; 4) Remove gang graffiti from property within 48 hours; and 5) Provide education and gang awareness to community leaders and residents.

The City of St. Louis' Circuit Attorney's Office will hire an Assistant Circuit Attorney to handle targeted gang members and gang-related criminal activity. Providing an additional Assistant Circuit Attorney to fulfill this function will permit the Circuit Attorney's Office to continue and expand its collaborative efforts with other law enforcement agencies to prosecute and curtail gang-related crime and violence within the City.

NCA/NCF