Project Safe Neighborhoods Gang Initiative - Middle District of North Carolina

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 North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety serves as the fiscal agent for the Middle District of North Carolina's 2007 Anti-Gang Initiative. The District is facing a growing number of crimes involving weapons and gang activity. For example, Durham has experienced a staggering number of children who are direct victims or witnesses to gang, gun, and family violence and violent crime. As a result, children have had symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, and behavioral problems. To combat this situation, the District will utilize its Anti-Gang Initiative to conduct the following activities: develop educational and training materials and expanding the North Carolina Child Response Initiative (NCCRI) to provide families in need with acute assessment, treatment, and psycho-education about children's reactions to trauma; provide educational materials via web-based training for officers to gain a better understanding of the impact of gang and family violence on children, a resource guide to help facilitate referrals for families, and educational DVDs for community professionals to know about how NCCRI works with other agencies; provide a violent crimes task force web-based database to support information sharing, recording, and resource delivery throughout the District; sponsor a District-wide training summit or conference tailored to the specific needs of the Middle District Advisory Team; and conduct a program evaluation of the District's efforts.

NCA/NCF