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Press Release
Jackson, Miss - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi is kicking off the prevention piece of Project EJECT with various speaking engagements, interactions and engaging dialogue with our local youth, beginning with the Boys and Girls Club of Jackson at 4350 Raymond Road, on Thursday, June 28, 2018 at 11:15 a.m.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue its prevention work under Project EJECT, speaking to the local youth in Jackson, on the following dates and locations:
• July 23, 2018, Boys and Girls Club of Jackson, 1450 W. Capitol Street
• July 26, 2018, Boys and Girls Club of Jackson, 470 Sykes Road
As a part of its prevention efforts under Project EJECT, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is continuing the school outreach program started by former U.S. Attorney Greg Davis entitled the L.E.A.D. Program ("Legal Enrichment and Decision Making"). The L.E.A.D. program is an effort to educate and inform students about the value of an education, the relationship between education and their future, as well as the long term consequences of gun violence and criminal activity. Under Project EJECT, the L.E.A.D. Program will provide students with a roadmap to success through setting goals, staying focused, avoiding negative influences, giving back to the community, and bouncing back after disappointment.
"Prosecuting crime alone is not enough. We must do everything we can to prevent crime before it happens. And one way to prevent crime is to reach out to our young people and let them know we care about them, that there is hope and there are much better alternatives to crime. I want to thank former U.S. Attorney Greg Davis for developing the L.E.A.D. program and for his work with the youth. I think it is only fitting that we begin our prevention work where former U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton poured a lot of his time and resources into – the Boys and Girls Club of Jackson. The foundations set by these men and many others have laid the groundwork for being able to make our communities and citizens in Jackson and throughout the state safer and more secure," said U.S. Attorney Hurst.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office expects to reach over 400 students in the metro area during the Summer of 2018. The L.E.A.D. program will continue into the school year as well.
Project EJECT is an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime in Jackson through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for "Empower Jackson Expel Crime Together." PSN is a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.