New Orleans Group Violence Reduction Strategy

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is designed to create safer neighborhoods through a sustained reduction in crime associated with gang and gun violence. The program's effectiveness is based on the cooperation of local, state, and federal agencies engaged in a unified approach led by the U.S. Attorney (USA) in each district. The USA is responsible for establishing a collaborative PSN task force of federal, state, and local law enforcement and other community members to implement gang and gun crime enforcement, intervention and prevention initiatives within the district. Through the PSN task force, the USA will implement the five design features of PSN--partnerships, strategic planning, training, outreach, and accountability--to address specific gun and gang crime problems in that district.

The New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation Inc., serving as the fiscal agent for the USAO Eastern District of Louisiana, will reduce the number of homicides and shootings in the St. Roch/Seventh Ward neighborhood by implementing the Group Violence Reduction Strategy which is an evidence-based model that has been successfully deployed in multiple cities throughout the country. This proposal involves partnerships among federal and local government agencies, service providers and community members with a focus on deterring violent crime through targeted enforcement, deterrence, and social services. The following activities are included in the program design: a) training; b) group mapping and incident review; c) high profile crackdowns of targeted offenders; d) deterrence messaging; e) organization of service providers and key community stakeholders; f) direct face-to-face communication with perpetrators; and g) ongoing enforcement and repeat call in sessions to reaffirm the deterrence message.

NCA/NCF