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Summary of Operation TARGET

Operation TARGET (Taking Aim to Reduce Gun Violence and End Trafficking) is Western District of Pennsylvania's Firearms Violence Reduction Initiative that is a multifaceted team approach to reducing firearms related violence in the communities of Western Pennsylvania. The TARGET approach, use many past proven strategies, such as have been employed in other cities, along with innovations unique to our area. The TARGET strategy can be broken-down into five major components, each with elements that are being implemented as Operation TARGET progresses. Below, you will find a brief summation of each component and the elements that they are comprised of:

Law Enforcement Component:

The Law Enforcement Component is comprised of three units that look to enforce Federal and State Firearms laws from all angles. This component consists of a Street Unit, Violent Crime Unit and a Federal Firearms Licensee/Lead Unit, all of which continually coordinate their investigative efforts with the other TARGET participants.

Street Unit:
This unit investigates current firearms related criminal activity with Federal, State and Local partners.

Examples of criminal activity investigated by this unit are homicides, firearms related assaults, firearms thefts and "straw purchase" schemes that are brought to light as a result of a firearm recovery.

Violent Crime Unit:
This unit receives and investigates leads resulting from referrals made to the Operation TARGET task force. The purpose of this unit is to facilitate Federal prosecution of criminals (prohibited persons) who are found in possession of firearms.

Examples of criminal activity investigated by the violent crime unit are armed career criminals, armed drug traffickers and gangs and felons in possession of firearms.

The Federal Firearms Licensee / Lead Unit:

This unit is responsible for investigating leads generated from trace information related to "straw purchasers" and those who facilitate illegal gun purchasing and trafficking. This unit compiles & analyzes firearms related data from all sources such as, firearms traces, participating agency input and ATF's Online LEAD.

Prosecutive Component:

The prosecutive component of Operation TARGET is meant to present a unified front against gun crime. The United States Attorney, District Attorneys and the Commonwealth Attorney Generals Office have joined together to send a clear message that the criminal misuse of firearms will not be tolerated, regardless of prosecutive venue.

The Operation TARGET Task Force Law Enforcement Component will refer cases for prosecution, and the United States Attorney and District Attorney will, in consultation with each other and with the Task Force, make the final decision as to the best venue for prosecution.

Probation and Parole (Follow-up) Component:

The Operation TARGET Federal, State and County Probation and Parole Office Participants working closely with the other Operation TARGET Law Enforcement Component team members will assist in identifying potential firearms law violators and coordinate with other Task Force Components when firearms are discovered in possession of their "clients".

The Probation and Parole participants will also ensure that their "clients" are made aware of consequences related to violations of firearm laws, through handouts, meetings, etc.

Targeted Deterrence Component:

One goal of Operation TARGET is to deter criminals, either first time or repeat offenders or inmates, from the criminal misuse of firearms by the use of a number of innovative techniques designed to ensure that the deterrent message reaches potential offenders.

In this component Operation TARGET employs a tiered approach that consists of a "blanket notification" to all who become involved in the criminal justice system, "forum meetings" or "call ins" for those who are under conditions of supervised release and increased probation and parole assistance to police.

Public Awareness/Partnership Component:

Operation TARGET includes a public awareness and partnership component which was introduced at a press conference at the office of Pittsburgh's Mayor Tom Murphy on October 12th 2000, and is presently underway.

An important element of the public awareness campaign is training and education of all public and private partners as well as the community. Appropriate training has been developed and will be delivered to meet the needs of each TARGET audience. For example, Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) will be offered a Dealer Awareness Program, Law Enforcement will be offered Firearms Trafficking Seminars and Comprehensive Firearms Tracing training and for the Community, Community Awareness Presentations.

Other target audiences for the training and education portion of the Operation TARGET campaign will be public and private schools and the community at large. Currently, plans are underway to implement a campaign specifically designed to educate the youth of our communities as to how to avoid the criminal misuse of firearms and firearms related violence. Recently, two Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Officers received ATF GREAT training and it is anticipated that the program will be implemented in the Pittsburgh Public Schools within the year.

In addition to the five main components of Operation TARGET, coordination will be maintained between many support functions and initiatives that have been identified as being critical to the success of the overall Operation TARGET Firearms Violence Reduction Initiative. The support functions required to facilitate the overall initiative include the Comprehensive use of the Integrated Ballistic Identification System (IBIS), Federal, State and Local Laboratories and the development and implementation of a regional and State-wide Comprehensive Crime Gun Tracing Network that is tied to the ATF National Tracing Center.

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