SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE/ALEXANDRIA/LAKE CHARLES/MONROE,
La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced today that the Department of
Justice has awarded $152,565 to support the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program in the Western District of Louisiana. Funding will support community efforts to address the epidemic of gun crime, violent crime and gang violence in the district. The grant is one of a number of awards being made to state and local agencies across the country. Funds are administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, an arm of the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP). The OJP 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.
The PSN approach is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities; supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place; 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. PSN programs are led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in collaboration with local public safety agencies and community organizations. The programs’ emphasis on community engagement, prevention and intervention measures, focused and strategic enforcement, and measurement and accountability has helped achieve overall reductions in violent crime, including gun homicides, in neighborhoods where PSN strategies have been implemented.
“The PSN program has played a vital part in the battle against the problem that we have with gun violence in the Western District of Louisiana,” said U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown. “This grant will help to continue the efforts of officers in Shreveport and other cities in our district to combat this type of violence on our streets. The success of the PSN program is a result of the tireless, and sometimes thankless, efforts of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. We commend these law enforcement officers for the work that they do each and every day to keep our communities safe and look forward to continuing the work before us. However, this grant will also give us an opportunity to focus on crime deterrence, prevention and educational programs through other community partners for the benefit of our district.”
Past recipients of PSN grants have been the Alexandria, Lake Charles, Monroe,
Shreveport and Lafayette Police Departments as well as the Caddo Parish and Lafayette
Parish Sheriff’s Offices and Lafayette City Marshal’s Office. Funds were granted for various programs to include assisting with implementation of a new computer software program, body cameras for law enforcement officers, training for officers on gang prevention and overtime hours for law enforcement officers to increase patrols in areas that saw an increase in violent crime, including narcotics, gang and gun-related violent crimes.
The Shreveport Police Department has been named as the fiscal agent for administering the funds allowed through this PSN grant. A committee comprised of
community volunteers from the five major cities in the Western District of Louisiana has been appointed to be responsible for reviewing the applications received from law enforcement and non-governmental agencies who submit their grant proposals.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods has been a successful program for our city,” stated Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith. “We are honored to once again act as the fiscal agent for this grant and look forward to supporting the U.S. Attorney and our federal partners in building mutual trust between law enforcement and the community to help curb the violent crime epidemic in our area.” Shreveport Police Department, on behalf of the DOJ’s OJP, is seeking applications for these grant funds under the PSN Program. At least 30% of the grant funds must be designated for grants under the PSN Program to fund new and/or current gang violence reduction strategies in the Western District. Various types of single or multi-grantee grant proposals are welcome, including those that address the following:
• Gang and gun violence reduction, deterrence, prevention, community outreach and education;
• Enforcement, adjudication and supervision programs;
• Prisoner re-entry programs; or
• Other innovative related projects.
The FY 2022 PSN Grant Announcement can be found on the Western District of Louisiana U.S. Attorney’s Office website at: www.justice.gov/usao-wdla. To be eligible, grant proposals must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, November 11, 2022, to the following e-mail address: USALAW.PSN@usdoj.gov. Interested applicants may also e-mail questions or contact Lisa Alwert at (337) 262-6618 for additional information.
More information about awards under PSN and other OJP grants can be found on the
OJP Grant Awards Page.