In Arizona, after years of effort on the part of the law enforcement gang unit and the Yuma County Attorney’s Office, a Yuma gang leader is behind bars and a neighborhood is feeling safe again. In Baltimore, MD, the police are fighting crime with old-fashioned ideas fashioned in new ways, like the Safe Zone Project. The Project targets high-crime districts for 1 month’s time. In New York, tribute was paid to Captain Timothy Laun of the Syracuse Police Department, a long-time supporter and advocate of the Weed and Seed strategy. Lastly, in New York, the Yonkers Police Department’s Gun Tracing Program led detectives to the owner of a gun used in the murder of police officer in Virginia. The program was a result of the Weed and Seed planning process which identified gun trafficking as a major local problem in Yonkers. This issue on Creating Safer Communities focuses on law enforcement efforts to keep communities safe and honor those lost while protecting local communities.