Press Release
USAO HOLDS PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS AWARD CEREMONY
February 4, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
At a ceremony held today at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta recognized the efforts and contributions of government agencies and various individuals and non-governmental organizations involved in promoting the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) goals of reducing gang and gun violence through prevention, deterrence, and reentry programs. Today’s award recipients were selected from among a wide range of participants in the Southern District of Florida’s Project Safe Neighborhoods program.
PSN is a crime prevention initiative that combines traditional law enforcement activities with community-based support and intervention programs aimed at reducing and preventing violent crimes and helping past offenders to adjust and re-enter the community. Founded in 2001, Project Safe Neighborhoods is the nation’s largest and most visible effort to combat violent crime and criminal gang activity at the community level. It helps to create safer communities through heightened coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement and the community. Originally focused on gun crime, PSN has expanded its focus to help address all forms of violent crime and gang activity by providing locally based programs with the tools and resources they need to succeed.
Among the groups and individuals who were recognized today were:
• The federal, state and local agents participating in the Miami-Dade County-wide FIRE Anti-Gun Violence Task Force, for their work in reducing gun crime in designated high incidence areas of Miami Dade County.
• The federal, state and local agents whose investigation into a Broward County-based subset of the Bloods gang resulted in the successful prosecution and conviction of 15 violent gang members.
• The PanZOu Anti-Gang Project, for their gang prevention work in North Miami Beach with former gang members, at-risk youth, and their families.
• Dr. Sherri Skibinski of Miami, for his work in developing the Inmate Change and Alternatives Network (ICAN), a residential re-entry program for ex-offenders.
• Prince Arafat of Palm Beach County, for his work in the City of Delray Beach, Palm Beach County, and elsewhere in developing juvenile crime prevention and intervention strategies.
• Janet Robinson (Johnson) of Miami, for her work in assisting ex-offenders meet the challenges of post-incarceration employment.
• Thomas Lanahan, III, and David Scharf, both of the Broward Sheriff’s Office, for their work and leadership in helping Broward County develop successful ex-offender reentry programs.
• Prison Fellowship Ministries, a national non-profit organization, for its work in Florida prisons in helping to prepare offenders for successful reentry into our communities.
• Craig Sparta of West Palm Beach Weed and Seed, for his work in juvenile crime prevention and intervention programs, and as an advocate for violence prevention programs.
• Wansley Walter of the Miami-Dade Juvenile Services Department, for her 25 years of successful service with at-risk youth and juvenile offenders, and for implementation of the Civil Citation Initiative and the Violence Intervention Project.
U.S. Attorney Acosta stated, “Gang and gang-related gun violence is not limited to one gang member killing another or killing a rival. Rather, gang violence spills onto our neighborhoods, killing innocent victims, destroying entire families, and poisoning the future and the welfare of our children. Aggressive prosecutions are not enough to stop this cycle of violence. Thanks to PSN and our partners, we are working to improve the life opportunities offered to young men and women in the communities where these gangs develop. With the help of our PSN partners, our goal is to remove the criminal elements from a community, and replace them with positive opportunities.”
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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