Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN)

Launched in 2001, the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program is a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. PSN is coordinated by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices 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. Across all districts, PSN follows four key design elements of successful violent crime reduction initiatives: community engagement, prevention and intervention, focused and strategic enforcement, and accountability.

In the Northern District of Illinois, the local PSN Task Force is chaired by the United States Attorney’s Office and is currently composed of the Chicago Police Department, Rockford Police Department, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Illinois Department of Corrections, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

The Chicago PSN Task Force has been in operation since PSN’s inception in 2001, and, over time, has voted the following locations as targeted enforcement areas in the Northern District of Illinois:

City of Rockford
Chicago Police Districts 1 (Central), 4 (South Chicago), 6 (Gresham), 7 (Englewood), 9 (Deering), 10 (Ogden), 11 (Harrison), 12 (Near West), 15 (Austin), and 18 (Near North), as well as the entire rail system operated by the Chicago Transit Authority.

A major goal of PSN is to incorporate research and data analysis, and lessons learned from other violent crime reduction initiatives, to inform its decision-making on the most effective violence-reduction strategies. Over the years, the University of Chicago and other academic institutions have studied parts of the Chicago’s PSN program. These studies, including those listed below, continue to inform our program today.