Eastern District of Michgan Violent Gang and Gun Crime Reduction Program

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 Children's Aid Society, serving as the fiscal agent for the USAO Eastern District of Michigan, will use the Project Safe Neighborhoods award to fund overtime for police officers in the Detroit Police Department, the Dearborn Police Department, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, the Michigan State Police, and the Michigan Department of Corrections, all of which will be engaged in plainclothes and undercover operations targeting gang and gun violence. In addition, grant funds will be utilized to fund one Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor (APA) position. The APA will be assigned to review and authorize search warrants, authorize arrest warrants, conduct investigative subpoenas and vertically prosecute cases in the PSN target area. Lastly, the award will be used fund part-time positions for a research partner and for a research assistant who will assist in the implementation of coordinate law enforcement activity and data collection from grant funded activities. The goals of the project are to reduce the occurrence of violent gang related incidents through efforts supported by federal, state, and local law enforcement and through the use of data and real-time intelligence.

CA/NCF