National and Local Cooperation

PSN is a partnership involving components of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ): the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the National Institute of Justice, the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA), and the United States Attorneys' Offices. PSN also partners with national constituent organizations including the National District Attorneys Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC).

In addition to the federal and national partners, Michigan State University, American University, Hobson & Associates, and the American Probation and Parole Association provide training and technical assistance to PSN.

The U.S. Attorney in each of the 94 federal judicial districts, working side by side with local law enforcement and other officials as a task force, has tailored the PSN strategy to fit the unique gun crime problem in that district. Criminals who use guns are prosecuted under federal, state, or local laws, depending on which jurisdiction can provide the most appropriate punishment. Each district engages in deterrence and prevention efforts through community outreach and media campaigns and ensures that law enforcement and prosecutors have the training necessary to make the program work. Each U.S. Attorney has designated a PSN point of contact to serve as the project coordinator and help streamline communication among the PSN task force members and partners.

To complement the PSN efforts in each district, DOJ created the Firearms Enforcement Assistance Team (FEAT), which is composed of federal staff who have expertise in PSN's core elements. FEAT also assists the districts with their implementation efforts by acting as the single point of contact within DOJ to address PSN inquiries from the federal judicial districts.

PSN is not a “one size fits all” program that is applied uniformly in all jurisdictions; rather, each local PSN task force designs its program by tailoring the five core elements of PSN to tackle its own unique gun crime problems.

PSN's Five Core Elements

Partnerships. Members of the 94 PSN task forces may include federal, state, and local agencies, including the U.S. Attorney who heads each task force; state and local prosecutors; special agents in charge from ATF, USMS, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); local and state chiefs of police; and community leaders. Each task force develops strategies to reduce gun crime and reviews and prepares gun cases for prosecution in the most appropriate forum and venue.

Strategic planning. Each PSN task force, assisted by a grant-funded research partner, creates a strategic plan tailored to address the specific dynamics of its crime problems. Plans are aimed at prosecuting violent gun offenders and intensifying federal gun law enforcement using state-of-the-art technology and intelligence-gathering techniques such as mapping crime, identifying hotspots, tracing seized crime guns, and using ballistics technology.

Training. Specialized training on current laws and trends that affect law enforcement is essential. PSN provides expansive and comprehensive training for federal, state, and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors. DOJ and its partners conduct regional cross training on firearm identification, safety, interdiction, trafficking, and tracing; federal and state firearm statutes; federal and state search and seizure laws; crime scene and evidence management; and strategic planning. U.S. Attorneys also are encouraged to conduct their own local and regional training programs.

Outreach. Community outreach and public awareness are essential to PSN's success. U.S. Attorneys work with their local communities to increase awareness of PSN, promote community involvement, send a gun crime deterrent message, and work with citizens to develop a gun crime reduction strategy for the district, including appropriate crime prevention strategies that involve community members. To spread the word about gun crime reduction, an aggressive community outreach campaign is coupled with strong enforcement and prevention and education messages. PSN has made direct grants to districts and sponsored a national media campaign.

Outreach activities include producing and distributing literature, conducting mail campaigns, sponsoring local workshops, and producing public service announcements (PSAs), educational literature, crime prevention toolkits, billboard advertisements, press releases, and news articles. Media partners work with the local PSN task forces to identify local stakeholders, leverage the support of potential partners, identify resources, and engage members of the community in the PSN initiative.

PSN's national PSA campaign, created by DOJ in partnership with NCPC and the Ad Council, began with the “Gun Crimes Hit Home” theme, which focuses on the consequences of using guns illegally. The first PSA, “Mothers,” was launched on September 27, 2003 and portrays the pain of mothers who have lost their children to gun violence. A series entitled “Sentenced,” which focuses on the pain caused to families when a loved one commits a gun crime, was officially launched on January 26, 2004. The “Gun Crimes Hit Home” message also is being emphasized in print, television, and radio advertisements.

Accountability. U.S. Attorneys must continually review gun crime reduction efforts to measure PSN's impact on reducing crime and its long-term effect. U.S. Attorneys regularly assess the effectiveness of their strategic plans and the emerging trends in their districts, and they provide semiannual progress reports to EOUSA. The reports allow the U.S. Attorneys to describe fully both the gun crime problems in their districts and the strategies the PSN task force is employing to combat those problems.