Posted: April 9th, 2022

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN)

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Program Profile: Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) (Chicago, Ill.)
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a program funded by the Department of Justice focussed on reducing the high levels of gun violence in Chicago. The plan that began in May 2002 utilizes collaborative strategies incorporated by several relevant agencies to alter the perceived costs and benefits of these crimes and reduce their occurrence (Papachristos, 2012). This research-driven program entails an analysis of gun-related violence challenges in the region. The data analysis would find that only several neighborhoods are responsible for high crime rates. The crime challenges are geographically and socially explicitly concentrated in neighborhoods with high poverty rates and social isolation. Therefore, the selected intervention strategies are designed to cater to these regions with the incorporation of evaluation strategies in both the short and long runs.
The project’s onset typically brings together the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies who collaborate with researchers and community agencies to create appropriate strategies for reducing homicide and gun violence. Three broad objectives guide all the agencies: reducing the demand for guns among young offenders, reducing their supply through identifying and disrupting the illicit gun markets, and preventing any onsets of gun violence (Bender et al., 2016). The strategies implemented in achieving the first two strategies depend on a combination of efforts from all the involved agencies. The end goal is to increase the perceived costs related to gun violence and to change the social norms and preferences among the young members in the gangs. To this effect, the collaboration and coordination strategies are mainly community outreach programs such as offender notification programs, media campaigns, school-based programs, and any other programs focussed on reaching the offenders. Different strategies included the multi-agency gun recoveries, federal prosecutions, and federal sentencing for the gun offenders.
The regions in which the PSN program was implemented have demonstrated a decline in gun violence rates. Research is done by Papachristos et al. (2009) would find that there was a 37% decline in homicide rates, a higher number of guns were recovered, and the offender notification forums experienced an increased number of attendees. The higher the number of firearms recovered directly correlated with the reduction in crimes in the targeted regions. This research focused on the 11th and 15th districts of Chicago’s Westside (Papachristos et al., 2009). Furthermore, the eligible gun offenders who attended the forums stayed for a shorter time in correctional facilities to those that did not. The recidivism rates of offenders also declined, considering that 30% of the offenders who attended the forum were also less likely to go back to prison than the offenders who did not participate in the discussions. The efforts focussed on building a positive perception of the law by offenders have also been fruitful, considering most of the attendees created positive opinions and attested to complying with the law.
An assessment of this program illustrated a difficulty in pointing out the agencies that made the most and least impact. This is because each of the agencies involved played significant functions that would align the project with its objectives. The researchers provided important information used in making decisions on the strategies to be used. The community outreach profits utilized non-profit organizations to formulate educational programs for young individuals in high schools and the community. The offender notification forums were conducted by different representatives from various agencies such as law enforcement, the community, and service providers as each educated the attendees on various related matters. This education was critical in building a positive perception towards abiding by the law. The law enforcement agencies directed available resources to recover guns in the targeted areas, and the federal prosecutions. Those dealing with federal prosecutions reviewed all the gun cases and determined whether they were federal or state levels. The more severe the case was, the higher the probability of it being prosecuted at the federal level, which was very strict. Therefore, offenders would be deterred from engaging in gun offenders because repeat offenders would receive stringent punishments. All these roles were significant in achieving the program’s objectives.
The program’s collaboration would improve if the right authorities directed adequate resources towards these efforts and increased their regional coverage. The PSN program is extensive in terms of the strategies it incorporates. Therefore, there is a need to have more resources directed to the different agencies to play their significant functions optimally (Ahmed, 2019). For the researchers, they need extensive support to analyze the challenges in the region critically. The relevant information gained would guide other agencies on how to conduct their outreach efforts. The rest would know all the areas that need higher concentration and thus put extra effort in those areas. These concerted efforts would wholesomely reduce crime rates.

References
Ahmed, N. (2019, January 29). The deteriorating impact of the project safe neighborhoods program in Chicago. Retrieved from https://chicagopolicyreview.org/2018/03/08/the-deteriorating-impact-of-the-project-safe-neighborhoods-program-in-chicago/
Bender, K. A., Cobbina, J. E., & McGarrell, E. F. (2016). Reentry Programming for High-Risk Offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 60(13), 1479–1508. doi:10.1177/0306624×15578204
Meares, T., Papachristos, A., & Fagan, J. (2009). Homicide and gun violence in Chicago: Evaluation and summary of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program. Review of Research.
Papachristos, A. (2012). Project safe neighborhoods (Chicago). Retrieved from https://www.crimesolutions.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?ID=258

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