Community
PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS/ANTI-GANG INITIATIVE
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a comprehensive national program to reduce gun violence at the local level. An estimated three billion dollars was allocated through Fiscal Year 2008 to fund local and federal prosecutors; provide resources for law enforcement; support research and community outreach partners; fund a national media campaign; and provide training, technical assistance, and research functions for the initiative. For Fiscal Year 2010, DOJ dedicated approximately $11.8 million to combat gangs and gun crime around the country through locally organized Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) task forces.
Part of this effort includes the Southern Nevada PSN Task Force, a team of law enforcement officers and prosecutors who meet on a weekly basis to discuss arrests involving guns and explosives. From 2002 to 2009, Las Vegas PSN Task Force members screened over 3,390 cases for prosecution, and over 970 individuals were charged with federal firearms charges. A like number were prosecuted by the Clark County District Attorney’s Office and sentenced in the state court system. During the same period, federal prosecutors in Reno charged over 290 persons with federal firearm offenses.
In February 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a plan to combat gang violence across America. The Department’s strategy is twofold: First, prioritize prevention programs to provide America's youth, as well as offenders reentering the community, with opportunities that help them resist gang involvement. Second, ensure robust enforcement policies when gang-related violence does occur. The Attorney General's Anti-Gang initiative is summarized at: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2008/August/08-opa-705.html. The initiative will build on the effective partnerships and strategies developed through PSN to support anti-gang enforcement and prevention efforts and to provide training and technical assistance.
The following PSN/Anti-Gang grants and awards have been made to Nevada partners in order to support the elements of PSN:
FISCAL YEAR 2009:
Nevada Youth Alliance - $60,000
Clark County District Attorney’s Office - $48,000
FISCAL YEAR 2008:
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department - $71,431
Nevada Youth Alliance - $50,000
FISCAL YEAR 2007:
PSN -
Washoe County Sheriff’s Office - $131,697
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department - $25,778
Anti-Gang -
Clark County District Attorney’s Office - $165,732
Nevada Youth Alliance - $63,942
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department - $41,255
FISCAL YEAR 2006:
Clark County District Attorney’s Office - $145,523
Washoe County Sheriff’s Office $32,971
Clark County Department of Juvenile Justice: $76,015
FISCAL YEAR 2005:
Clark County District Attorney’s Office - $37,404
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department - $37,404
FISCAL YEAR 2004:
Washoe County Sheriff's Office - $191,689
Join Together Northern Nevada - $104,673
FISCAL YEAR 2003:
Washoe County Sheriff's Office - $187,978
Join Together Northern Nevada - $102,025
Advisory Council for Prosecuting Attorneys - $10,000
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department - $40,080
FISCAL YEARS 2001 & 2002:
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department - Media Outreach and Community Engagement Award ($170,000)
21st Century Solutions, Inc. - Research Partner/Crime Analyst Award ($150,000)
Clark County District Attorney's Office - Project Safe Neighborhoods Community Gun Violence Prosecution Program ($480,000)
To find out about more about PSN and its local programs, visit the PSN Web site at www.psn.gov.
Questions about the District of Nevada's PSN or Anti-Gang initiatives should be directed to the District’s Public Affairs Specialist/LECC, Natalie Collins, at (702) 388-6336.
MORTGAGE FRAUD
In March 2008, a new task force was formed in order to pool the considerable resources of the federal, state, and local agencies in Nevada to aggressively combat mortgage fraud. Members of the Southern Nevada Mortgage Fraud Task Force, include the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Nevada Attorney General’s Office, Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Secret Service. Persons who have information concerning potential mortgage fraud may contact the Southern Nevada Mortgage Fraud Hotline at (702) 584-5555.
PROJECT SAFE CHILDHOOD
Project Safe Childhood (PSC) is a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 that aims to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. The threat of sexual predators soliciting children for physical sexual contact is well-known and serious; the danger of perpetrators who produce, distribute, and possess child pornography is equally dramatic and disturbing. The Department of Justice is committed to the safety and well-being of every child and has placed a high priority on combating sexual exploitation of minors. Through a network of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, PSC coordinates efforts to protect our children by investigating and prosecuting online sexual predators. PSC is implemented through a partnership of U.S. Attorneys; Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces; federal partners, including the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Marshals Service; advocacy organizations such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; and state and local law enforcement officials in each U.S. Attorney’s district. Between 2002 and 2009, over 220 individuals have been charged and convicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nevada with crimes involving the use of the internet to exploit children. These crimes include: manufacturing, transporting, and receipt of child pornography, online enticement of children for sexual acts, and traveling with the intent to engage in sex with a minor. Most of these individuals have been sentenced to lengthy periods of federal imprisonment without the possibility of parole.