Peters Applauds Justice Department Grants to Michigan’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) today applauded the Department of Justice’s announcement Michigan will receive over $1 million in funding through the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program. Peters and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) authored the bipartisan law authorizing the grant program, which is a nationwide law enforcement initiative aimed to reduce violent crime. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Michigan’s Eastern Judicial District will receive $688,951 and the Western Judicial District will receive $343,802.

“Drug crimes and gun violence have become an everyday occurrence for too many Michigan communities, and we need to utilize proven strategies so all Michigan families can live, work and go to school in a safe neighborhood,” said Senator Gary Peters. “I am pleased that the Justice Department is strongly supporting this program that will build upon the important relationships that have already been established between Project Safe Neighborhoods, local law enforcement and community leaders to prevent violence and foster safer communities.”

Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutors that uses evidence-based and data-driven approaches to reduce violent crime. Under Project Safe Neighborhoods, multiple law enforcement agencies cooperate and focus their enforcement efforts on the organized criminal networks and repeat offenders that are driving the crime rates in a particular region.

Project Safe Neighborhoods also works to build trust and partnerships between law enforcement and the communities they serve through coordinated outreach, public awareness, innovative tactics, and collaborative interventions. Since its inception in 2001, Project Safe Neighborhoods has been successfully deployed by both Democratic and Republican administrations to reduce violent crime in large cities and smaller communities across the country. According to a Michigan State University study funded by the Department of Justice in 2013, Project Safe Neighborhoods was associated with a 13.1% decrease in violent crime in cities with a high-rate of program participation—including double-digit reductions in total firearms crime and homicides in every city examined by the study.

###