U.S. Attorney's Office Western District of Louisiana issued the following announcement on Oct. 9.
Two years ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.
Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Throughout the past two years, the department’s United States Attorneys have partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. According to FBI’s 2018 Uniform Crime Report released last week, the violent crime rate decreased for the second consecutive year, down 3.9 percent from the 2017 numbers. The 2018 statistics show the estimated rate of violent crime was 368.9 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants.
“The revitalized Project Safe Neighborhoods program is a major success,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “It packs a powerful punch by combining advanced data with local leadership, further reducing violence in communities across the country and improving overall public safety. U.S. Attorneys continue to focus their enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals and work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal police. The Justice Department’s relationships across the board have never been stronger.”
“My number one priority remains aggressively prosecuting violent crime in the Western District of Louisiana through the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph. “PSN is a proven strategy that works when federal, state and local law enforcement partners come together to identify and prioritize prosecution of the most violent criminals in our neighborhoods — holding them accountable for their crimes and preventing future criminal conduct. We will not allow a culture of violence to deprive honest, hardworking Louisianans of the freedoms and opportunities we cherish as Americans. I want to thank the prosecutors from my office and our federal, state and local law enforcement partners for their hard work and dedication over the past year to make our communities safer.”
Throughout the past year, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana has continued to make good on its promise to prioritize reducing violent crime through the implementation of PSN throughout the district. Monthly meetings are being held with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and violent crime task forces from the five metropolitan cities within the district, consisting of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers as well as state prosecutors. Directly as a result of this collaboration, teamwork, and shared intelligence and resources, approximately three times the number of firearm and violent crime offenses were charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as compared to prior years.
Original source can be found here.