Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a national initiative by the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

with the help of the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

(ATF) to reduce

gun violence in the United States Gun violence is a term of political, economic and sociological interest referring to the tens of thousands of annual firearms-related deaths and injuries occurring in the United States. In 2016, a U.S. male aged 15–24 was 70 times more likely ...

. The project's aim is to improve neighborhood safety and decrease gun violence in American communities. Project Safe Neighborhoods was established in 2001 through support from President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. The program expands upon strategies used in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

's Operation Ceasefire, and in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

's Project Exile. PSN initiatives typically involve United States Attorneys working with local law enforcement to implement programs such as Gang Crime Investigation and Suppression, Prevention and Education,

Gang Resistance Education and Training Gang Resistance Education And Training, abbreviated G.R.E.A.T., provides a school-based, police officer-instructed program in America that includes classroom instruction and a variety of learning activities. The program was originally adminis ...

(G.R.E.A.T.), and Data Sharing and Gathering. Each local strategy incorporates the three national priorities: * Increased prosecution of violent organizations. * Heightened enforcement of all federal laws. * Renewed aggressive enforcement of federal firearms laws. Since 2001, over $1.5 billion of federal dollars have been allocated to support Project Safe Neighborhoods. Funds have been used to hire additional

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

s and provide assistance to state and local jurisdictions in support of training and community outreach efforts. On May 26, 2021, the

launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN so that it is built on newly articulated core principles including improving the community's view of the initiative, providing support to community organizations that improve neighborhood safety, and carefully monitoring any improvement in communities where PSN initiatives have been instated.

References

External links

Project Safe Neighborhoods

Project Safe Neighborhood's Anti-Gang Training

{{crime-stub Law enforcement operations in the United States