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Western District of Louisiana Receives More Than $152K to Support Project Safe Neighborhoods

Louisiana – The Western District of Louisiana will receive a total of $152,565 in funding from the Department of Justice as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, as was announced today by the United States Attorney for that district, Brandon B. Brown. This funding will help community efforts to confront the scourge of gun crime, violent crime, and gang violence that has been plaguing the area. This grant is only one of many awards that are being given to state and municipal agencies all around the country. The funds are overseen by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP). The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) provides federal leadership in addition to 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, provide assistance to victims, and strengthen the rule of law.

The PSN approach is guided by four key principles, which are as follows: 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. It is not enough to just raise the number of arrests or prosecutions; rather, the primary objective is to lower the rate of violent crime. U.S. Attorney’s Offices, in conjunction with local public safety agencies and community organizations, are in charge of directing the programs that makeup PSN. The programs’ emphasis on community engagement, prevention and intervention measures, focused and strategic enforcement, measurement and accountability have contributed to overall reductions in violent crime, including gun homicides, in neighborhoods where PSN strategies have been implemented. This has helped achieve overall reductions in violent crime.

“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.”

The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Lafayette City Marshal’s Office, and the Alexandria, Lake Charles, Monroe, and Shreveport Police Departments are some of the departments that have received funding from the PSN in the past. Other recipients include the Lafayette City Marshal’s Office. A variety of programs, such as providing assistance with the implementation of a new computer software program, providing body cameras for law enforcement officers, training for officers on the prevention of gang activity, and providing overtime hours for law enforcement officers to increase patrols in areas that saw an increase in violent crime, including narcotics-related, gang-related, and gun-related violent crime, were all recipients of funding.

It has been determined that the Shreveport Police Department would serve as the fiscal agent in charge of the administration of the funds that are granted through this PSN award. A committee made up of community volunteers from the five major cities in the Western District of Louisiana has been appointed to be in charge of reviewing the grant proposals that have been submitted by law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organizations. This committee has been given the responsibility of evaluating the applications that have been received.

“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:

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