ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), announced today the continued availability of approximately $325,000 in grant funding for Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) initiatives.

On March 10, 2022, EDVA announced the availability of $535,653 in grant funds to programs and initiatives that support the PSN violence reduction strategy. Since then, four organizations have received grants totaling approximately $500,000. The initiatives that received funding last year were:

• The City of Richmond RVA League for Safer Streets, which seeks prevention and intervention for young individuals who may be susceptible to or involved in gangs;
• Ballistic IQ technology for the police departments of the cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Hampton;
• A three-year research grant on the impact of effectiveness of Group Violence Intervention by the George Mason Center for Evidence Based Policy; and
• Real Life Group Violence Intervention and services for individuals making re-entry into the community from correctional facilities.

EDVA’s PSN violence reduction strategy, which is supported by these initiatives, sets the following goals to reduce violent crime:

• Engage, collaborate, and invite community stakeholders to share responsibility in efforts to reduce violent crime.
• Build trust between law enforcement and the community through effective communication, regular interaction, and the support and protection of crime victims.
• Reduce accessibility and possession of handguns among minors.
• Reduce re-offending and break the cycle of re-victimization.
• Disrupt and dismantle the region’s most organized and violent gangs.
• Identify chronic violent offenders responsible for a disproportionate level of violent crime.
• Work with citizens in neighborhoods most impacted by violent crime on harm reduction strategies.

In the fall of 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s office formed a Grant Committee in collaboration with local, state, and community partners to help identify and allocate grant funds to programs and initiatives that support EDVA’s PSN violence reduction strategy. The Committee is currently prioritizing three regions impacted most by violent crime—Richmond, Newport News, and Norfolk—but will evaluate grant applications from across the Eastern District.

The U.S. Attorney and the PSN Grant Committee encourage organizations and local and state agencies whose programs support our PSN goals within the district to apply for the remaining grant assistance by visiting the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) website at https://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/grants/programs/fy-2023-project-safe-neighborhoods-psn-grant-solicitation . Applications must be submitted in the DCJS Online Grants Management System (OGMS) no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 26, 2023.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Original source can be found here.