PSN is coordinated through each district’s PSN District Plan, aligning activities with Operation Take Back America priorities by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs) in the 94 federal judicial districts throughout the 50 states and U.S. territories. PSN is customized to account for local violent crime problems and resources. An important aspect of PSN is to integrate research, intelligence, and analysis to guide enforcement and resource allocation to inform the decision-making process on the most effective violence reduction strategies.

Across all districts, PSN follows three core PSN principles: rapid response, strategic partnerships, and accountability of successful violent crime reduction initiatives: community engagement, prevention and intervention, focused and strategic enforcement, and accountability. Specifically,

• Rapid response to violent crime, including charging the most serious, readily provable offenses with enhanced penalties where appropriate.
• Strategic partnerships, coordination, and information sharing among federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and other public safety partners to target dangerous offenders and criminal networks, including criminal aliens.
• Accountability and deterrence, supported through PSN District Plans and annual reporting of accomplishments as tools for assessing progress and guiding public safety efforts.

PSN also encourages the development of practitioner-researcher partnerships that support strategic targeting, accountability, and data-driven priority setting that use data, evidence, and innovation to create strategies and interventions that are effective and make communities safer. This data-driven approach enables jurisdictions to understand the full nature and extent of the crime challenges they are facing and to direct resources to the highest priorities.

Additional Resources

• Visit the Publications and Archives pages for additional resources