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Violence Reduction Partnerships

In 2011, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (USAO-SDFL) established the Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) to address violent crime in the Miami-Dade County communities of Overtown, Liberty City/Little Haiti, and Miami Gardens. In October 2013, the USAO-SDFL VRP program expanded its reach into the city of Ft. Pierce in St. Lucie County, in order to address the gun and gang related violence that plagued the community. In 2014, the VRP continued its expansion into Hollywood and West Palm Beach. Most recently, the VRP expanded its efforts into Lake Worth, Pompano, Goulds, Homestead and Florida City.  Through the VRP, the USAO and its federal, state, and local law enforcement partners have prosecuted and continue to target for prosecution the most violent offenders and their criminal networks operating in these “hot spot” communities. Simultaneously, and equally as important as the VRP’s enforcement efforts are the excellent working relationships that the USAO-SDFL and our law enforcement partners have forged with community leaders and non-profit organizations to mentor at-risk youth, provide jobs and job training to young families, and support the successful reentry of returning citizens (previously incarcerated individuals) into our communities.

The USAO-SDFL VRP is actively involved with a variety of initiatives designed to help prevent and combat crime. One such prevention initiative is the VRP Pre-K Reading Program.  During the VRP Reading Program sessions, government, law enforcement, and private sector professionals directly engage with early learners at child-care centers and elementary schools in high-crime areas. The objective is to increase the children's appetite for reading before entering kindergarten, thus reducing early academic failure and hopefully prevent the younger generation from turning to criminal conduct. Since its inception in 2013, the VRP Reading Program has expanded to 24 schools throughout the Southern District of Florida; including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie Counties. On a monthly basis, USAO-SDFL personnel, along with volunteers from the Jones Day law firm, IRS, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) read and distribute books to over 1,200 children districtwide.  Together, the VRP readers enhance the children’s reading proficiency, intensify their love of reading; supplement their vocabulary, and provide each child with a personal library. Following each reading session, every child is given a book to take home. Since 2014, the VRP has given children throughout the Southern District of Florida over 47,340 books.

Additional information regarding the Office’s VRP Prevention and Reentry initiatives can be found inside the attached brochure. View Brochure

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/us-attorney-ariana-fajardo-orshan-announces-progress-making-our-communities-safer-0

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/us-attorney-ariana-fajardo-orshan-announces-progress-making-our-communities-safer

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/us-attorney-s-office-hosts-second-annual-reentry-simulation

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/west-palm-beach-police-department-southern-district-florida-receive-project-safe

The VRP telephone number and email address are listed below.

VRP Telephone Number: (305) 961-9134

VRP Email Address: USAFLS.VRP@USDOJ.GOV

Updated October 8, 2019