North Carolina Eastern District Project Safe Neighborhoods Program

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a nationwide commitment to reducing gun crime, links existing local programs together and provides them with necessary tools. PSN takes a hard line against gun criminals, using every available means to create safer neighborhoods; seeks to achieve heightened coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement; and 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 North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, serving as the fiscal agent for the Eastern District of North Carolina, will use the grant to address gun crime and gang prevention initiatives. The district will fund the activities described in the following sentences. Fayetteville and Cumberland Counties will continue Operation Ceasefire, which utilizes newspaper, billboards, and sports venues to convey their gun crime reduction message and will pay for media-related services. The Fayetteville Police Department will purchase DNA supplies to continue a gun recovery system. The City Impact program, which strives to empower youth to look for alternatives to gangs and positively deal with the issues of anger, will purchase a projector and screen, enabling coordinators to more effectively show presentations.

The Sheriff's Office in Greenville and Pitt Counties will continue funding the Hoops and Hope Basketball Program. They will purchase uniforms, travel, equipment, supplies, food, and refreshments for practices and workshops, gym rental fees, and tournament registration fees for program participants. Funding will also be used for an awards ceremony for participants and volunteer staff and some coaching salaries. The Lumberton Police Department will continue their anti-gang awareness, prevention, and ex-offender re-entry programs. New Hanover County Sheriff's Office will continue funding a community resource coordinator position to provide support to the gang unit officers. The city of Raleigh will develop a Robbery Suppression Initiative, a comprehensive approach to address the increase in convenience store robberies. Overtime funds will be used for suppression efforts to decrease the number of robberies and gun violence.

NCA/NCF