Justice Department Awards More Than $17.5 Million to Support Project Safe Neighborhoods

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced that it has awarded more than $17.5 million in grants to support the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program. Funding will support efforts across the country to address violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. The Puerto Rico Public Housing Authority was awarded $151,223 to administer PSN grant funds in the District of Puerto Rico.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), part of the department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), will administer the 88 grant awards, which are being made to designated fiscal agents to support local PSN projects that work in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.

“This latest Project Safe Neighborhoods grant is critical to addressing the violent crime threatening cities and towns all across our country,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Ensuring the safety of all Americans is the highest priority for the Department of Justice, but when it comes to violent crime, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. We have to work closely with local public safety agencies as well as community organizations to craft individual strategies unique to each community’s needs. Programs like Project Safe Neighborhoods and the funding it provides allow us to do just that.”

“In the District of Puerto Rico, we continue to increase the collaboration between law enforcement, state agencies, community organizations and our communities to be able to prevent and reduce violent crime,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “Protecting our communities from violence is a top priority and we remain fully committed and engaged with our partners to make Puerto Rico safer.”

Grant funds will support law enforcement operations with the goal of reducing drug trafficking and violent crimes in Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable and underserved communities. Grant funds will also support community engagement initiatives to build stronger relationships of trust between those communities and law enforcement. With approval from BJA, the Fiscal Agent will begin the process of making subawards for PSN grant projects.

“Investing in our communities, supporting victims and building a justice system that both keeps people safe and earns their trust – these are mutually reinforcing goals that stand at the heart of Project Safe Neighborhoods,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon for OJP. “The Office of Justice Programs is pleased to join with our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and with jurisdictions across the country, as we work together to meet the challenges of crime and violence and achieve our shared aspirations of public safety and community trust.”

In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new effort to reduce violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. Integral to that effort was the reinvigoration of PSN, a two-decade old evidence-based and community-oriented program focused on reducing violent crime. The updated PSN approach, outlined in the department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime issued by Deputy Attorney General Monaco, is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.

This fall, U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country have enhanced their violent crime reduction efforts to ensure alignment with the department’s comprehensive violent crime reduction strategy. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices have engaged in outreach to law enforcement and other agencies and organizations serving communities to identify the most significant drivers of violence in their districts. Working together with a broad coalition of stakeholders, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are addressing the most pressing violent crime issues in their district to make our neighborhoods safer for all.

PSN programs are led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in collaboration with local public safety agencies, community stakeholders and other agencies and organizations that work to reduce violent crime.

For a list of all grantees, please visit: https://www.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh241/files/media/document/FY21-Project-Safe-Neighborhoods-Awards.pdf

In addition to the grant listed above and other grants previously announced, in recent weeks the Department of Justice has awarded the following additional grants to entities and organizations in Puerto Rico:

1. Puerto Rico Police Bureau: $150,000 for the PRPB Crisis Response Training Program

2. Puerto Rico Forensic Science Institute: $296,966 for the Puerto Rico 2021 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant Program

3. Guara Bi, Inc. in partnership with the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections (PRDC): $899,264 for the Second Chance Act Puerto Rico Treatment and Recovery

4. Puerto Rico Institute of Forensic Sciences: $635,846 for the DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program

5. Puerto Rico Department of Justice: $37,015 for the JRJ Student Loan Repayment Program

6. Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: $221,382 for the PR Department of Correction and Rehabilitation Residential Substance Abuse Program

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The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law. More information about OJP and its components can be found at  www.ojp.gov.