U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Southern West Virginia issued the following announcement on Oct. 8.
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, we 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 Crime in the United States Report released this week, the violent crime rate decreased for the second consecutive year, down 3.9 percent from the 2017 numbers.
“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.”
“We are seeing significant reductions in violent crime as a result of PSN,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Our PSN success to date is a testament to the remarkable partnerships between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in the Southern District. Rest assured that while we’ve locked up record numbers of violent drug dealers and prohibited persons with guns, we maintain a sense of urgency. We still have much work to do to keep our citizens safe from perpetrators of violence.”
“ATF strives to be ‘no better partner’ to law enforcement agencies,” stated ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Tommy Estevan of the Louisville Field Division. “During the past year, ATF investigated illegal sources of crime guns and persons who illegally possessed or used guns to commit violent crimes in the Huntington and Charleston communities. Together, we pursued ‘traffickers and trigger pullers’ with every resource, including new ballistic technology and other crime gun intelligence to disrupt the shooting cycle. ATF remains committed to the continued success of Project Safe Neighborhoods and this comprehensive approach to public safety.”
“Huntington’s reductions in violent crime can be credited to our partnerships with federal agencies and our community, as well as the hard work of our police officers,” said Huntington Police Chief Hank Dial. “Our PSN partnerships have resulted in more thorough and rapid gun investigations which have led to marked decreases in violent crime making our community a safer place to live.”
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