Using Community Resources in Gun Violence Reduction Initiatives

• NCJ Number: 199028
• Journal: USA Bulletin Volume: 50 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2002 Pages: 30-32
• Author(s): John Lenoir
• Date Published: January 2002
• Length: 3 pages
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article explains how the U.S. Justice Department's Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) has been used by the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Texas to bring together the best practices of the various Federal initiatives operating in the district to focus on reducing gun violence.

Abstract

The Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has mounted various efforts to promote community-based public safety through planning strategies and programs. The flagship programs for U.S. attorneys is Weed and Seed, which was created in 1991 to provide mechanisms for reviewing and analyzing crime problems with local and Federal law enforcement officials and prosecutors. Other OJP programs -- such as the Strategic Approach to Community Safety Initiative (SACSI) and the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Offenders (Comprehensive Strategy) -- empower community-based planning teams with technical assistance that brings scientific process and data-based decision making to violence reduction. The Southern District of Texas has adopted a comprehensive approach to reducing gun violence. What makes this initiative distinctive is the district's commitment to leverage the OJP and State investments in community-based public safety initiatives of Weed and Seed and Comprehensive Strategy. The Weed and Seed program was well established in five communities in the district. This was the working coalition of community representatives, prosecutors, and law enforcement agencies. Comprehensive Strategy was the research-guided strategic planning process. Bringing the two programs together could effectively engage the community's interest and resources in the issue of sustained gun-violence reduction. The district's approach is premised on the understanding that gun violence can be significantly reduced in a community by intelligent and persistent attention to early juvenile delinquency and crime. A major goal has been achieved in bringing together the best practices of the various OJP initiatives in the district to focus on reducing gun violence.