PSN Success Stories

Southern District of Indiana

The Southern District of Indiana has a strong PSN initiative that combines an innovative program—the Indianapolis Violence Reduction Program (IVRP)—with partnerships of federal, state, and local law enforcement and faith-based organizations. Through IVRP, the district has created a program of prevention and prosecution to deter felons from possessing firearms and ammunition. Through its faith-based approach, ministers and religious leaders have assisted with outreach and prevention efforts that have greatly enhanced the district's interaction with the community, developed a ready network of support for families at risk of firearm violence, and provided unique opportunities to deliver the PSN message. These outreach efforts are directed to and through service-oriented and/or spiritually related organizations that work to improve the quality of life for the community.

Successful community outreach efforts focusing on PSN have been made in schools as part of a program called Educating Kids About Guns (EKG) and at events such as the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration Youth Summit and Breakfast with the Boyz and Breakfast with the Girlz, attended by 1,000 young men, women, boys, and girls. A youth scholastic basketball event delivered the PSN message. PSN participation in these events is designed to reach individuals who are believed to be most at risk and affected by gun violence. A strong law enforcement message is delivered in conjunction with the message from community and faith-based organizations that there are alternatives to violence and that assistance is available.

In addition to the strong efforts focused on prevention and deterrence, federal prosecutions in this district have increased dramatically. Federal statistics for the Southern District of Indiana from FY 2000 to FY 2003 show an increase of 154 percent for gun crime prosecutions and an increase of 141 percent in the number of defendants prosecuted. In FY 2003, 84 percent of the convicted defendants were sentenced to prison terms of more than 3 years, and 61 percent were sentenced to prison terms of more than 5 years.

Although establishing concrete links between gun crime prosecution, prevention, and deterrence efforts and a decrease in violent crime requires long-term rigorous study, preliminary results are encouraging. According to the Indianapolis Police Department, the number of homicides in the high-crime, west district has decreased by 30 percent. From 29 in 2001, the number dropped to 20 in 2002 and 21 in 2003. Moreover, homicide figures remain well below the record-high levels that occurred in 1997 and 1998, prior to implementation of IVRP.

District of Massachusetts

Boston was one of the pioneers of PSN. Its Project Ceasefire helped to set the foundation on which PSN was built and expanded. The District of Massachusetts continues to implement PSN strategies that are tailored to address the issues facing its community. As part of its PSN initiative, the district has expanded its programs to bring the most successful elements of Project Ceasefire to other major cities in the district, including Brockton, Lowell, Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, New Bedford, and Fall River. District attorneys' offices in these areas collaborate with the U.S. Attorney's Office to discuss strategies for proactive investigations, to confer on cases, and to refer firearm-related cases for potential federal prosecution when viable. Target cities also have been encouraged to identify hotspots of firearm violence and to use their data to design strategies to combat violence.

Recently, the District of Massachusetts teamed with its PSN media outreach partner, federal and state law enforcement agencies, and community-based service providers to launch a media campaign to target previously convicted felons. The campaign is meant to serve as a reminder to felons of the mandatory sentences faced if they are found in possession of firearms.

Other PSN programs aimed at helping individuals make good choices to remain law-abiding members of the community complement the media campaign. One such program is the Boston Reentry Initiative, in which offenders are assigned mentors to guide them in obtaining job training, substance abuse counseling, employment opportunities, and any other needed services. The severity of the penalty for offenders in possession of firearms is also reiterated. According to preliminary findings, individuals who stay active in the program have a lower rate of recidivism than would be expected for this population.

Two other collaborative initiatives take proactive approaches to preventing gun crime. Through Operation Nightlight, state probation officers and police officers make unannounced home and community visits to monitor high-risk probationers to ensure compliance with probation conditions. This initiative provides more interactive relationships between probation officers and probationers, strengthens cooperation between police and probation officers, and serves notice to the community that the police and probation officers are serious about their mission. Operation Homefront teams clergy with police to visit more than 600 at-risk minors and their families per year with the goal of preventing future criminal behavior. The participation of clergy, who are often known to the families and welcomed into their homes, encourages parents to see police as positive figures who sincerely want to help.

In addition to these strong efforts focused on prevention and deterrence, federal prosecutions in this district continue to dramatically increase. The District of Massachusetts has seen a 157 percent increase in prosecutions from FY 2000 to FY 2003. In FY 2003, 77 percent of convicted defendants were sentenced to prison terms of more than 3 years and 47 percent were convicted to terms of more than 5 years. Statistics show that in 2002, violent crime in the district reached its lowest level in 31 years.

Western District of Tennessee

The Western District of Tennessee has formed effective partnerships with the Memphis Police Department, the district attorney, ATF, and other state and local law enforcement in its efforts to implement the PSN initiative and target felons in possession of firearms or ammunition for federal prosecution. The district’s PSN task force shows an impressive level of cooperation among all involved components. A dedicated Firearms Unit is composed of the PSN coordinator, three other federal prosecutors, and one state prosecutor. The unit has ensured that the most violent offenders are charged in federal court within days of their arrest, while continuing to indict the remaining offenders in a timely manner.

The enforcement authorities of the PSN task force meet weekly to review information prepared by the Police Department’s PSN unit on all arrests or citations in which a firearm was seized. This information is then cross-referenced and reviewed for prior felonies, related drug or violent crimes, and stolen or otherwise prohibited firearms. The Memphis Police Department has developed a computer database that allows all enforcement components of the PSN task force to access information for all PSN cases, enabling them to immediately identify recidivists or prior codefendants, with links to supplemental investigation reports. Indictment and disposition information in both state and federal courts is also available. Personnel who use the database praise it for allowing swift and easy access to shared information among the participating members of the PSN task force.

The cooperation within the Western District of Tennessee has led to a 407 percent increase in federal gun crime prosecutions since PSN’s inception. In FY 2003, 76 percent of the convicted defendants were sentenced to prison terms of more than 3 years, and 58 percent were sentenced to more than 5 years. Firearm-related homicides fell by 16.4 percent from 2002 to 2003, and aggravated assaults committed with firearms fell by 10.7 percent.

District of Nevada

To focus on the dramatic increase in violent crime in Las Vegas, the District of Nevada has created Project EFFECT (Ex-Felon and Firearm Equals Conviction). Project EFFECT combines the efforts of ATF, state and local police, and the district attorney's office in the prosecution of felons in possession of firearms or ammunition.

Due to the district's makeup and geography, the U.S. Attorney's Office has two separate Project EFFECT programs. The first program is tailored to meet the needs of Las Vegas, which has a largely urban population, and the second program focuses on southern Nevada and is tailored to a more rural population. Weekly firearm meetings in southern Nevada bring together attendees from the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Clark County District Attorney's Office, ATF, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), and more recently, officials from the Henderson Police Department and the North Las Vegas Police Department. Firearm cases that have occurred during the week are discussed and determinations are made as to the best manner of prosecution. The LVMPD gun crimes unit also has begun implementing a community outreach program that includes informing residents in the areas with the most gun crime about increased firearm enforcement and prosecution. This outreach is done through word of mouth by patrol officers and detectives at meetings of community, business, and faith-based groups.

As a result of these efforts, federal gun crime prosecutions in the District of Nevada have steadily increased. From FY 2000 to FY 2003, there has been a 160 percent increase in gun crime prosecutions, with an increase of 163 percent in the number of defendants prosecuted. In FY 2003, 59 percent of convicted defendants were sentenced to prison terms of more than 3 years, and 30 percent were sentenced to prison terms of more than 5 years.

Since October 2001, a very efficient and organized effort to combat violent crime has been underway in the Clark County/Las Vegas Metropolitan area. A successful PSN task force partnership has led to significant increases in both state and federal gun crime prosecutions, and its work has attracted the attention of felons in the Las Vegas area. The word on the street is that if a felon possesses a firearm, his/her case will be thoroughly reviewed for the possibility of federal prosecution.

In these 4 and in the other 90 federal judicial districts throughout the country, PSN is making America's neighborhoods safer by supporting local efforts to vigorously enforce gun laws, prosecute offenders, and prevent and deter gun crime.

2. The online HTML and PDF versions of this report present information on the Western District of Tennessee that is not presented in the print version.