Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2009, $86,257)
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 Iowa Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy, serving as the fiscal agent for the Southern District of Iowa, will use the grant to increase police presence in problematic neighborhoods, provide additional investigative resources for gun-related activity, increase the awareness of federal firearms laws and crime scene investigation techniques, and increase resource sharing efforts to combat gun crime. The Clinton Police Department will use overtime to conduct more thorough and timely investigations of firearms offenses, which will result in greater numbers of arrests and prosecutions, fewer weapons offenses, and more firearms seized. The department will also provide gang awareness training through the Citizen Police Academy. The Council Bluffs Police Department's PSN officer will continue to provide training on federal firearm laws and crime scene investigation techniques, work with the Region 4 Fusion Center to increase information sharing, and assist county attorneys in forming local firearms teams to review cases. The police department will continue to investigate firearms crimes in their community, trace all firearms involved, and analyze information so that plans can be developed to combat problem areas within the community. Des Moines will increase suppression efforts and continue building on the tracking and sharing of current gang trends and activity. Additional enforcement is intended to grasp gang activity and provide law enforcement with an organized approach to identify, track, and deter unwanted criminal behavior that negatively impacts the community and surrounding areas.
NCA/NCF