2007 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.

The Inter American University of Puerto Rico serves as the fiscal agent for the Judicial District of Puerto Rico's Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Anti-Gang Initiative. The District will utilize its funds to support law enforcement efforts and combat gang violence in the housing projects located in the San Juan, Carolina, Bayamon, Ponce, and Fajardo. The goal of the initiative is to reduce gang related crime and violence by allocating funds for a special team of law enforcement officers and support personnel focused solely on interdicting violent crime. Some of the goals will be to target the most violent gangs operating in the area and prosecuting the targeted individuals through application of local and federal statutes; obtain immediate results in the reduction of violent crimes involving criminal gangs and organizations operating in the targeted areas; improve the quality of life of the residents of those areas by bringing back safety to their communities; reduce criminal activities and violent crime in the mentioned areas and surrounding communities considerably; dismantle criminal organizations; and increase the number of leads which law enforcement agents may use to prosecute criminals more efficiently. Specifically, the grant funds will be used to: fund a project director and an administrative assistant to manage programmatic activities; pay overtime and purchase equipment for the PSN Strike Force personnel, who conduct investigations of gangs; support firearms technicians to identify and analyze firearm evidence from crime scenes; and support an outreach program for youth in the targeted areas and provide anti-gun and gang workshops and educational videos for youth.

NCA/CF