Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative - District of Connecticut

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 Connection Inc., serving as the fiscal agent for the District of Connecticut, will use the grant funds to support PSN initiatives that target both gun crime and gang-related violence. The PSN task force will: maintain the effectiveness of the firearms response units and gang task forces in each of the PSN target cities of Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, Waterbury, Norwalk, New London, and New Britain by providing necessary overtime and equipment; assign Assistant United States Attorneys to each of the PSN task forces to advise on issues relating to wiretaps, investigative strategies, witnesses, and confidential informants; reduce firearm and gang-related crime by maintaining an increased police presence and arming law enforcement officers with technologically advanced equipment; use Title III intercepts wherever the law and facts permit; aggressively pursue pretrial detention for offenders referred to the federal system for prosecution; coordinate current PSN and anti-gang efforts, including the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, Safe Streets Task Force, Project Safe Neighborhoods Gang Task Force, Hartford VCIT, and Weed and Seed; improve communication between law enforcement and community leaders by providing training to community members and parents on both the identifiers and characteristics of gangs and the effective coordination of gang prevention workshops and programming; support gang intelligence collection efforts and the development and implementation of a statewide gang database; conduct monthly offender meetings for youthful offenders in each of the PSN cities, provide effective mentoring for those who attend the meetings, and create opportunities for these individuals to engage in positive activities outside of school; and conduct monthly offender meetings for adult offenders in each of the PSN cities, provide effective counseling and access to service providers to enable former offenders to obtain employment, education, drug treatment, and job training and enable these individuals to re-enter their communities as law abiding citizens.

NCA/CF