Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) program in Rowan County is an effort to combat crime in the community.

According to the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, “Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun and gang crime in America by networking existing local programs that target gun and gun crime and providing these programs with additional tools necessary to be successful.”

The program focuses on creating success in Rowan County by accessing and providing resources to ex-offenders who are identified through data-driven methods as likely to re-offend or be victims of gun violence. The program is intended to bring community resources in to play to lever the ex-offender toward a more successful life path by opening lines of communication between service providers, and developing strong relationships with community partners.

The office, housed at the Salisbury Police Department, will be a central location for building a program for offenders to be able to find services like childcare, job assistance, training programs and maybe post-secondary education opportunities, if she can find the right grants.

PSN first began in 2001 nationwide. The $2 billion that has gone in to its programming has been used to “hire new federal and state prosecutors, support investigators, provide training, distribute gun lock safety kits, deter juvenile gun crime, and develop and promote community outreach efforts as well as to support other gun and gang violence reduction strategies.”