Anti-Gang Initiative

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.

Sam Houston State University (SHSU) is the current fiscal agent for the Southern District's FY 2007 Anti-Gang Initiative. The selection committee for the PSN Task Force has selected ten sub-recipients to support the District's Anti-Gang Initiative. These organizations will utilize these funds for a wide array of projects and activities that support law enforcement, crime prevention, media awareness, and information sharing initiatives.

The U.S. Attorney's Office will support 14 projects by awarding sub-grants to the following agencies and jurisdictions: (1) Corpus Christi Police Department (promote an aggressive gang and firearm interdiction campaign titled, 'Save Our Streets'; (2) Harris County Juvenile Probation Department (provide comprehensive, intensive probation supervision services to gang-involved youth); (3) Harris County Sheriff's Office (reduce the number of graffiti/tagging crimes in targeted regions of Patrol District Four); (4) Harris and Victoria County Sheriff's Offices (fund officer overtime to analyze and image specimens of firearms-related evidence); (5) Houston Police Department ' Fondren Division (reduce firearms-related offenses and impose strict prosecution efforts for those engaging in all types of criminal behaviors); (6) Houston Police Department ' Northeast (reduce truancy levels and gang involvement and participation among youth by embracing a neighborhood oriented policing philosophy); (7) Houston Police Department ' Southeast (provide officer overtime to patrol areas with increased gang activity and to conduct additional follow-up investigations); (8) Houston Police Department ' Westside Division (fund officer overtime to increase referrals for federal prosecution, conduct pawn shop investigations, enforce zero tolerance efforts in 'hot spots', foster community awareness, and gather intelligence); (9) City of Houston Mayor's Office (hold a city-wide, anti-gang conference); (10) Pasadena Police Department (identify, track, and prosecute gang- and prison-gang members committing crimes, especially those paroled in the city); (11) Texas City Police Department (increase officer presence in middle schools, gather intelligence, partner with Campus Crime Stoppers, eradicate graffiti, adjudicate misdemeanors, conduct media campaigns and press releases, partner with community- and faith-based groups, and conduct case management); (12) Texas Engineering Extension Service #1 (train school administrators and teachers in first responder situations); (13) Texas Engineering Extension Service #2 (train teachers to identify students suspected of using drugs and alcohol, and identify aggressive behavior); and (14) Victoria Police Department (fund officer overtime to input data into the gang tracking system and to identify gang members in the field). Federal funds will cover personnel and fringe (administrative costs); travel (local quarterly meetings and PSN conference); general supplies; contracts with ten sub-recipients (overtime, travel, media campaigns, computer hardware and software, speaker fees, and evaluation services); other costs (food for quarterly meetings); and indirect costs.

NCA/CF