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Justice Department awards $17.5 million to support Project Safe Neighborhoods

Albany Herald - 12/13/2021

Dec. 13—MACON — The Department of Justice announced recently that it has awarded more than $17.5 million in grants to support the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program. Funding will support efforts across the country to address violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. In the state of Georgia, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council was awarded funding totaling $532,348, which will be administered to the districts.

The Middle District of Georgia will receive $130,025, directed toward evidence-based programs focused on violent crime reduction, youth outreach and gang investigations. The Northern District of Georgia will receive $297,151 and the Southern District of Georgia will receive $105,172.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance, part of the Department's Office of Justice Programs, will administer the 88 grant awards, which are being made to designated fiscal agents to support local PSN projects that work in partnership with U.S. Attorneys' Offices.

"This latest Project Safe Neighborhoods grant is critical to addressing the violent crime threatening cities and towns all across our country," Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said. "Ensuring the safety of all Americans is the highest priority for the Department of Justice, but when it comes to violent crime, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. We have to work closely with local public safety agencies as well as community organizations to craft individual strategies unique to each community's needs. Programs like Project Safe Neighborhoods and the funding it provides allow us to do just that."

"These grants are one element of a multiprong approach to address violence in communities in Georgia," Middle District of Georgia U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said. "By offering financial support for innovative crime solutions, Project Safe Neighborhoods puts the power in the hands of local communities to fight violent crime."

In May, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new effort to reduce violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. Integral to that effort was the reinvigoration of PSN, a two-decade-old evidence-based and community-oriented program focused on reducing violent crime. The updated PSN approach, outlined in the department's Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime issued by Deputy Attorney General Monaco, is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.

This fall, U.S. Attorney's Offices across the country have enhanced their violent crime reduction efforts to ensure alignment with the department's comprehensive violent crime reduction strategy. U.S. Attorneys' Offices have engaged in outreach to law enforcement and other agencies and organizations serving communities to identify the most significant drivers of violence in their districts. Working together with a broad coalition of stakeholders, the U.S. Attorneys' Offices are addressing the most pressing violent crime issues in their district to make neighborhoods safer for all.

PSN programs are led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices in collaboration with local public safety agencies, community stakeholders and other agencies and organizations that work to reduce violent crime.

For a list of all grantees, visit https://www.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh241/files/media/document/FY21-Project-Safe-Neighborhoods-Awards.pdf.

The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation's capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

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