Project Safe Neighborhoods - Northern District of Florida

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 Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the fiscal agent for Florida's Northern District (FND), will use the PSN funds to implement strategies that aggressively focus on prevention and prosecution of crimes involving the use of firearms, target gang violence and at-risk youth, and promote educational goals. FND will use the grant funds to establish intelligence and information sharing activites between law enforcement agencies, within FND and beyond when possible. The strategic plan for FND's anti-gang initiative includes preparing law enforcement for gang and gang member identification, sharing data, preventing and investigating gang activity, educating youth on the downfalls of joining or being a gang member, and identifying problems and needs through gang threat assessments. FND's strategic plan for their gun crime reduction initiative is to continue the "Smart Prosecutions" program. Under this program, ATF will review state firearm arrests to determine if the case is better prosecuted in federal or state court.

NCA/NCF