Project Safe Neighborhoods - Western District of Wisconsin

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 Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance (OJA), serving as the fiscal agent for the Western District of Wisconsin, will allocate PSN funds to areas with the highest number of violent crime offenses, based on Uniform Crime Reporting data. OJA will target the grant funds in the following areas: city and count of Eau Claire, a drug trafficking route between Chicago and the Twin Cities; city and county of La Crosse, a drug trafficking route experiencing a significant increase in Asian gang activity; Marathon County and the city of Wausau, which have a growing gang and weapon offenses problem; and the cities of Madison and Fitchburg, which have significant increases in gang-related shootings, aggravated assaults, robberies, as well as an increase in gang members intimidating crime victims. Grant funds will be used to pay for police overtime and surveillance supplies in these four target areas.

NCA/NCF