FY 2008 Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative

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 Saint Thomas Saint John Chamber of Commerce, serving as the fiscal agent for the District of the Virgin Islands, will use their FY 2008 PSN grant to fund media-related programs designed to reduce gun and gang violence. The district will use grant funds to support the Speak Your Peace II contest, a music competition for the territory's youth ages 11 to 21 in which the target audience will write and perform a music piece denouncing gun violence. The approved winning material will be used in video public service announcements that are placed in movie theaters, distributed on DVDs at movie rental stores, and broadcasted on TV stations. Grant funds will be used to support the Draw Against Gun Violence Poster Project, a competition for students ages 12 to 18 for a poster design that encompasses the theme of gun crime reduction. The end product will be mass produced and displayed in the area's schools, businesses, and malls. Grant funds will also be used to maintain a dedicated call forwarding telephone line and promotional cost for advertising a gun hotline number. The gun hotline helps local law enforcement recover illegal weapons.

NCA/NCF