GRAND RAPIDS—United States Attorney Andrew Birge announced Jan. 28 that the Department of Justice has awarded a total of $152,430 in Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) grant funds to local partners for the year 2021.
The PSN grant program works to reduce and prevent violent crime by supporting a combination of community-based violence prevention programs and law enforcement efforts in specific geographic areas in our district, identified as the most at-risk through data collection and analysis.
The PSN grant program seeks to improve both citizen security and community-police engagement.
With that goal in mind, a committee of local law enforcement leaders worked closely with their local communities to determine how to distribute these federal funds.
In Western Michigan, a committee of local prosecutors and law enforcement departments from Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Muskegon collectively worked with community members and non-governmental organizations to focus this funding on violence prevention, building strong community-law enforcement relationships, and providing alternative opportunities for those who might engage in violent crime.
This year the PSN committee awarded grant funding to a diverse set of projects, including community-based violence intervention programs as well as intelligence-led policing initiatives.
• In Muskegon, the money will fund a project that helps at-risk youth obtain their drivers’ licenses. Lack of transportation is a major obstacle for many at-risk youth, which precludes them from attending school and obtaining or maintaining employment.
• In Muskegon Heights, PSN funds will be used to fund a variety of community-based programming and outreach, including an after-school sports program, a park renovation project, the mentoring of at-risk youth by former convicts, and community/police town hall meetings.
The grants will also help several different projects in Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Lansing.
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