PROVIDENCE – The U.S. Department of Justice has selected three Rhode Island communities – Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket  –  to join with their federal partners in an initiative aimed at reducing intimate partner firearm violence.

Federal prosecutors and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will work with the police departments to develop a strategy to reduce domestic-violence firearms cases and prioritize prosecutions of known offenders for possible prosecution.

More: SWAT team responds after domestic violence incident in West Warwick; suspect found dead

“Domestic violence takes a devastating toll on families and communities across Rhode Island,” U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha said in a news release. “And when combined with illegal firearms, the consequences can be deadly.  This Office is proud to partner with the cities of Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket to bring targeted federal prosecutions that keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and help keep our communities, our friends, and our neighbors safe.”

Now in its infancy, the effort will focus on repeat offenders and look at ways to reduce the risk through the federal system to their victims – who are often plagued by fears about money, children and housing that can make them reluctant to come forward.

It is modeled, in part, on “Operation 922,” which targets domestic violence offenders for federal prosecution in western Oklahoma. Launched in 2018, that program gives state and tribal police access to federal authorities to vet cases for whether federal charges could be pursued.

“Operation 922 prioritizes prosecutions of federal firearms offenses that arise in domestic violence settings,” according to a news release.  

Federal prosecutors to provide resources, training

The three Rhode Island cities are among 78 communities across 47 states, territories, and the District of Columbia that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland approved for the special designation under the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, according to a news release.

The U.S. Attorney Cunha’s office intends to provide resources and training to law enforcement agencies to help identify firearms cases that may be investigated and charged as federal crimes, with a focus on perpetrators of intimate partner violence.  They will work hand in hand with the ATF.

“ATF is dedicated to reducing domestic violence, with a special focus on cases involving firearms. By working closely with our law enforcement partners, we are determined to end these violent crimes and safeguard our communities,” said James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division. “Together, we will protect victims and hold offenders accountable, ensuring a safer future for all.” 

Domestic violence resources providers decry cuts

The new initiative comes as the nonprofit organizations that provide services and support to domestic violence victims decry federal spending cuts.

The system to support survivors of domestic violence in our state is in crisis. There is no other way to put it. A massive 40% cut in the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) this year left Rhode Island with a nearly $2-million gap in victim services funding, risking an interruption of life-saving services impacting nearly 50,000 residents who rely on services and programming funded by VOCA,” Jim Berson, board president of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, wrote in a recent op-ed.

Domestic violence murder highlights need

The piece was written not long after the death of Stephanie Francis, the Hopkinton mother fatally shot by her husband, Joseph Francis, on July 5. The police had been called to the house weeks earlier, an encounter during which Francis, 44, appeared “visibly upset” with a red bump on her head. The report described her husband as “aggressive” and “uncooperative” and detailed his cache of weapons, including illegal high-capacity magazines for pistols and rifles.

The day after the shooting, the police spotted the 45-year-old Joseph Francis’s SUV and pursued him until he lost control and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Nonprofits’ ask goes unanswered

More than 20 nonprofit organizations urged state lawmakers last session to provide emergency funding for support services for victims based on the 40% cuts in federal funding nationwide. The cuts will take effect Oct. 1.

More: Police reports detail domestic abuse weeks before Hopkinton mother’s killing

A total of $700 million is being slashed from Victims of Crime Act funding across the country, including Rhode Island.

Created in the mid-1980s, the Crime Victims Fund is a federal program that relies on fines and penalties imposed on federal defendants convicted at trial. The money is used to provide social services and compensation to crime victims at no taxpayer cost.

Locally, the money has been used to provide grief counseling, protective services, safety planning, and a confidential 24-hour statewide helpline, among other services.

“It threatens really essential programs,” Lucy Rios, executive director for the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, warned at the time. 

“[T]he domestic violence movement is still struggling with serious underfunding. We experienced significant cuts to Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding earlier this year. The loss of VOCA funding, and the lack of action of the General Assembly to provide the necessary state-based backfill funding, has led to a $715k gap in the RICADV’s budget alone,” Rios said in an email.

Twenty-plus organizations have been impacted by the cuts, Rios said.