Fiscal note
There is no impact on cost controls or the levy. Grant funds will be accounted for in a special revenue fund.
Title
Authorizing the Mayor, City Clerk and Chief of Police to accept a Project Safe Neighborhoods award from the State of Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance in the amount of $60,000 and to utilize these funds toward crime prevention and anti-gang enforcement efforts.
Body
WHEREAS, the U.S. Dept. of Justice has developed a nationwide Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative to reduce gun violence and gang activity, by linking together federal, state, and local law enforcement, prosecutors, and community leaders, to provide a multifaceted approach to deterring and punishing these illegal activities; and,
WHEREAS, this ongoing effort will allow local law enforcement to combat gangs by building on the effective strategies and partnerships developed under PSN; and,
WHEREAS, the Dane County Youth Gang Prevention Task Force Community Response Plan has outlined information regarding how Dane County has moved into the ranks of communities with full-fledged generational gangs that have an active entrepreneurial drug trade resulting in a number of violent gang-related acts such as shootings, graffiti and rival group conflicts; and,
WHEREAS, although this is a long-term problem that must be dealt with using a variety of methods, the Madison Police Department is responding to emerging illegal gang related activity through education, information sharing, and enforcement; and,
WHEREAS, these 2010 PSN funds will be used by the Madison, Fitchburg and Sun Prairie Police Departments, and the Dane County Sheriff’s Office to coordinate efforts for intelligence-led violent crime prevention and gang-activity reduction; and
WHEREAS, this initiative will create community building activities and help at-risk youth, especially Latinos, resist pressures to join gangs through a new “Community Gang Prevention Team” program in which youth and parents will...
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