Congressman Steven Palazzo spoke with U.S. Attorney General Jess Sessions about the Department of Justice’s Initiative, Project Safe Neighborhoods, that would fund street-level outreach, education, and employment opportunities to help combat the gun and gang violence in Mississippi and across the U.S.
“When I speak with local police chiefs and sheriffs in south Mississippi they all agree we need to fund street level outreach, education, and employment opportunities that combat gun and gang violence,” Palazzo said.
He went on to ask how the proposed program would address the ongoing violence in neighborhoods across the country.
“It’s $140 Million it will be money not going to the federal government, but to your local law officers in the form of a grant,” Sessions said. “And the goal of it would be to help our local grant recipients create task forces and partnerships to be more effective in their neighborhoods.”
AG Session said Project Safe Neighborhood is intended to develop and promote community outreach programs dedicated to reducing gun and gang violence.
“We want to help Mississippi deal with its problem and it might be quite different than a problem somewhere else in America and we will help them deal with their problem,” Sessions said.
The program was revived by Sessions in October 2017 and was originally created in 2001 in order to curb gun violence by strengthening mechanisms to prosecute those crimes and increasing communication between local communities and federal law enforcement.
The hearing was held by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Thursday, April 26th.
Watch the full exchange between Palazzo and Sessions below:
