Project Safe Neighborhoods
Addressing Drugs and Guns With DRAGUN Teams
The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Illinois has implemented PSN (Project Safe Neighborhoods) DRAGUN (DRug And GUNs) Teams that combine the efficiency of local task forces with the resources of federal agencies to identify the worst offenders and target them for prosecution. The U.S. Attorney's office considered geography and existing law enforcement task forces when it divided its 38 counties into 11 regions and assigned DRAGUN Teams to coordinate investigations and prosecutions. The goal of the DRAGUN Team is three-fold: to identify the worst offenders in its region in a "Top Ten List" and develop investigative strategies to apprehend these individuals, to ensure that prosecution occurs in the jurisdiction that will deliver the highest sentence, and to target regional drug trafficking through methamphetamine (Meth) laboratory clean-ups and focused prosecutions.
The U.S. Attorney's Office wanted to develop a PSN initiative that would impact every region in its district, rather than limit its efforts to only the higher population counties and subsequently neglect the methamphetamine problems and gun crime experienced in the rural areas. DRAGUN Teams in fact address every region, pooling together local, state, and federal agencies in all 38 counties to form 11 DRAGUN Teams that are assigned to a specific area of the district. Each team is comprised of an Assistant U.S. Attorney; a State Attorney; agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); sheriffs; local police officers; Illinois state police officers; and other law enforcement officers. DRAGUN Teams hold regular meetings to share intelligence, discuss cases under investigation, identify the worst offenders on a Top Ten List, target those offenders for arrest and prosecution, and strategize to determine whether state or federal court will secure the greatest sentence for the offender. In addition, DRAGUN Teams coordinate investigations and discuss evidentiary concerns and other considerations that may arise.
The PSN DRAGUN Team program was launched in September 2002 with its "Partnering Against Criminals with Firearms" convention. Overviews on federal and state firearms and drug violations were presented along with promotions of the PSN DRAGUN Team program. Regular meetings of the DRAGUN Teams followed, with team participants developing the team's Top Ten List and moving forward on cases.
The DRAGUN Team program has created an infrastructure for local officers to present cases to the federal and state system.
The U.S. Attorney's Office has also solidified relationships with DRAGUN Team members by establishing a reporting system that tracks every firearms case and prosecution. The PSN DRAGUN Team program, through the active participation of the parties, had a 66 percent increase in federal firearms cases filed in FY 2005 as compared to FY 2004. One successful team prosecution was a series of 11 indictments that resulted in 11 separate convictions and a total seizure of 52 machine guns, approximately 150 destructive devices, 2 silencers, and 2,564 rounds of ammunition . In another case a defendant received a 360 month sentence for drug trafficking offenses which were enhanced because he used a firearm and enlisted the aid of a juvenile while distributing cocaine and marihuana.
In an effort to maximize the PSN and DRAGUN Team effort, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Illinois has conducted a dozen training programs, for over 500 officers in the past year, aimed at improving the relationship between local, state, county and federal law enforcement and improving the quality of cases. The training classes have focused on gun recovery, methamphetamine labs and workshops, community policing, Drug Officer Certification programs and Development of Gun and Drug Cases.
Addressing the district's prevention and outreach duties, the Southern District of Illinois has launched a campaign using Highway billboard signs, smaller billboards at light rail and bus stations, posters in jail facilities and placards on the sides of buses, all addressing the penalties for gun crimes.
 |
Team 1 | AUSA Angela Scott, (618) 628-3700, AUSA Jim Crowe, (618) 628-3700 |
 |
Team 2 | AUSA Don Boyce, (618) 439-3808 |
 |
Team 3 | AUSA Deirdre Durborow, (618) 628-3700 |
 |
Team 4 | AUSA Kit Morrissey, (618) 628-3700 |
 |
Team 5 | AUSA Nicole Gorovsky, (618) 628-3700 |
 |
Team 6 | AUSA Amanda Robertson, (618) 439-3808 |
 |
Team 7 | AUSA George Norwood, (618) 439-3808 |
 |
Team 8 | AUSA Mike Carr, (618) 439-3808 |
 |
Team 9 | AUSA Jim Cutchin, (618) 628-3700 |
 |
Team 10 | AUSA George Norwood, (618) 628-3700 |
 |
Team 11 | AUSA Tom Leggans, (618) 439-3808 |