Project Safe Neighborhoods
Project Safe Neighborhoods ("PSN") is a Department of Justice initiative to reduce gun crimes. It networks existing local law enforcement programs that target gun crimes and provides a focal point for community activists in their anti-violence and anti-crime initiatives.
There are five elements to PSN: partnerships, strategic planning, training, community outreach and accountability.
Partnerships and Strategic Planning. Our partners include the R.I. Attorney General's office, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, the Providence Police Department, The Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence and the RI Training School. To date, federal PSN funds have paid for additional federal and state prosecutors and ATF investigators, provided training, and helped the City of Providence and The Institute launch Streetworkers, a network of violence intervention workers who work within neighborhoods to counsel the City's youth. We meet regularly with our law enforcement partners to jointly review gun cases for prosecution and to discuss and implement future strategies. Since 2001 when PSN was announced, our federal gun prosecutions have more than doubled, and gun offenders prosecuted federally have been sentenced to more than 882 years in prison.
Training. On a regular basis, our prosecutors provide PSN training to the law enforcement community. We offer training in weapons violations, preparing search warrants for federal prosecutors, processing evidence, and officer safety and survival techniques. To schedule your PSN training session, please call Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard W. Rose at 401.709.5000.
Our PSN Coordinator, Richard W. Rose, routinely visit middle and high schools and various other community centers and church groups engaging students and citizens in discussions about PSN and gangs.
Among recent public outreach efforts:
- Our AUSAs schedule monthly visits to the state prison to discuss PSN and to give cautionary advice on federal laws to inmates who are soon-to-be paroled.
- Our office issues a seasonal newsletter called Rhode Island Fed, which includes highlights of our PSN initiatives, prosecutions and sentences.
- Our office has embarked on a PSN poster and letter-writing campaign.
- Between March 2006 and October 2008, we have presented Street Smarts to over 9,000 students. To schedule a presentation, call Mr. Rose at 401.709.5000.
Accountability. Consistent and vigilant review of gun violence reduction efforts is necessary for a successful and proactive gun violence reduction strategy. Our PSN message "No Friends. No Family. No Freedom. Gun Crime Means Hard Time" is reaching the streets. Recently, Providence Police officers stopped a criminal who immediately asked, "Am I going federal?"
To hear PSN's national radio spot, click PSN Radio Spots.
To view PSN's national television spot, click PSN TV Spots.
Project Safe Neighborhoods: http://www.psn.gov/