Grant Funds Awarded

MACON: United States Attorney G. F. “Pete” Peterman, III and Bibb County Sheriff David Davis  announced today that the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs has awarded grant funds to the Middle District of Georgia Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force to implement a violent gang and gun crime reduction initiative.

Project Safe Neighborhoods is designed to create safer neighborhoods through a sustained effort based on the cooperation of local, state and federal agencies engaged in a unified approach led by the U.S. Attorney in each district. The FY 2017 Project Safe Neighborhoods Violent Gang and Gun Crime Reduction Program will provide $200,000 in grant funds to be used to (1) increase the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office Crime Laboratory’s capability to conduct ballistics analysis using latest IBIS BrassTrRAX technology; (2) conduct an in-depth scholarly review and data-driven analysis of the local gun and gang crime problem by Middle Georgia State University’s Center for Academic Research and Education; (3) increase federal prosecution of violent gun and gang crime offenders using comprehensive Assistant United States Attorney led-cases and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives led-NIBIN hits review; and (4) streamline directed patrol, field interrogation and jail outreach for gun and gang crime deterrence, using “Smart Suite” researcher-practitioner fellowship.

Partners in the initiative include Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Georgia Department of Community Supervision.  Middle Georgia State University submitted the application, prepared by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, for and on behalf of the agencies and will serve as the Fiscal Agent and Research Partner for the initiative.

“This grant is extremely helpful in the fight against crime for two reasons,” said United States Attorney “Pete” Peterman.  “First, it brings federal, state and local law enforcement together and blends their resources, as can be seen by all the agencies involved.  Secondly, by tracing all the various crimes in which a particular firearm has been used, we are likely to identify more perpetrators and solve more investigations than otherwise could be done without this additional resource.”

Sheriff David Davis said, “This federal initiative will greatly enhance the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office investigative and crime lab capabilities in concert with the ATF for the Middle District of Georgia region, by providing the latest IBIS BRASSTRAX ballistics analysis technology, training, and making entries into the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN). This capability will enable us to identify firearms that may have been used in multiple instances of violence in our area. Having this information will help to ensure that evildoers are held accountable for all of their misdeeds.”

For more information, contact Pamela Lightsey, Law Enforcement Coordinator, at 478-621-2603 or at pam.lightsey@usdoj.gov.