The Project Safe Neighborhoods program is a federal grant program designed to address violent crime with an emphasis on gun and gang related crime. The PSN program provides funding to each of the 94 US Attorney districts to facilitate a coordinated response to the most critical violent crime problem in each district.
ODCP in cooperation with the U.S. Attorney's Office, offers a competitive Project Safe Neighborhood funding opportunity. Through this funding opportunity, financial assistance is available to promote safe neighborhoods through a sustained reduction in violent crime, including, but not limited to, addressing criminal gangs and the felonious possession and use of firearms. The PSN program supports coordination, cooperation, and partnerships of local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve in a unified approach coordinated with the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Allowable expenses include:
- Personnel costs
- Equipment
- Operating expenses
- Building rental
- Personnel training (may require prior approval by the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy and/or the Department of Justice)
- Overtime pay
- Supplies
- Travel (out of state travel requires prior approval by the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy)
- Professional services (requires prior approval by the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy)
The US Attorney, Northern District of Iowa has identified the following Priority Activities. Priority funding will be provided to projects which employ strategies that positively affect these broadly targeted activities:
- Equipment, services and technology for law enforcement
- Youth-serving organizations/agencies toward the operation/support of prevention programming, including critical thinking classes, mentoring initiatives and/or other programs aimed at promoting protective factors and positive youth development
- Mental health/social services assistance
- Crime prevention training, de-escalation training, and community policing training for law enforcement officers
- Gang task forces including enforcement and prevention activities
Due to federal restrictions and/or limited amounts of funding, as a general rule, ODCP does not fund weapons, tasers, basic law enforcement equipment, construction, vehicles, or provide continuation or stopgap funding for projects initiated with other grant funding.