CASPER, Wyo. — In October 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office formed a Project Safe Neighborhoods Leadership Committee in Wyoming. Throughout the last year, the PSN Leadership Committee reviewed and analyzed various factors and statistics to determine how to best use PSN resources, as well as to develop and implement enforcement strategies to prevent and reduce crime and to provide oversight and evaluation of the PSN’s progress.

That’s according to a release from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, which states that the Leadership Committee has decided to concentrate PSN resources on Laramie County.

The release also offered the following areas of concern, which the resources will primarily focus on:

• Violent offenders who victimize children
• Armed offenders, including individuals federally prohibited from possessing firearms
• Violent crime recidivists
• Intimate Partner Violence, o IPV, offenders who commit a violent offense stemming from
  IPV and/or who use firearms during an IPV crime
• Violent offenders who possess firearms while distributing controlled substances
• Violent offenders involved in human trafficking

According to the release, “Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and community leaders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them by implementing the four PSN design elements: 1) Community Engagement, 2) Prevention and Intervention, 3) Focused and Strategic Enforcement, and 4) Accountability.”

Following these guidelines, in early 2024 the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office and the Cheyenne Police Department were approved to apply for and receive grant funding from Project Safe Neighborhoods in an effort to reduce and prevent violent crimes in Laramie County.

“The goal of bringing this committee together is to make Wyoming safer by supporting local and state law enforcement and prosecutors, and by prosecuting appropriate violent offenders in federal court where they will receive long prison sentences,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Eric Heimann.

In addition to the funding, officers from both law enforcement agencies joined the PSN Leadership Committee in order to “provide important insight regarding the needs and concerns of Laramie County and participate in the development of programs and strategies that emphasize the core elements of PSN.”

Individuals from the Laramie County District Attorney’s Office have joined the leadership committee as well.

According to the release, the following agencies are also participating in the PSN program and are represented on the leadership committee:

• Cheyenne Police Department
• Laramie County District Attorney’s Office
• Laramie County Sheriff’s Office
• Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police
• Wyoming Department of Corrections
• Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
• Drug Enforcement Administration
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Homeland Security Investigations
• United States Attorney’s Office
• United States Marshals Service

The release states that the Project Safe Neighborhoods program was designed to help combat violent crime problems in different cities and states. It was created with the goal of enhancing both coordination and cooperation among public service and safety partners in order to ensure that tactics, resources and intelligence services are integrated to identify and target violent offenders and criminal organizations.

“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a vital partnership between all levels of law enforcement,” said Cheyenne Police Chief Mark Francisco. “By combining our resources and expertise, we can effectively identify offenders, enhance prevention efforts, and strengthen our communities.”

Laramie County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff Brian Kozak said that he will use the resources offered by PSN to “provide exceptional service to other criminal justice agencies in Laramie County and to help domestic violence victims. The Sheriff will host an advanced homicide investigation course for local detectives, and he plans to purchase state-of-the-art cameras to capture a victim’s bruising following a domestic assault.”

The program is also describes as a collaborative effort designed to protect victims and potential victims.

“The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation is honored to be partnered with our state, local, and federal partners on the PSN initiative,” said Ronnie Jones, director of the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. “I am thankful for the cooperation, commitment and work the United States Attorney’s office has provided to this program to help make our state a safer place to live and work. We look forward to seeing how all the stakeholders work together to implement new ideas and strategies to address local violent crime.”

For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit www.justice.gov/psn.

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