About

The National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) was established by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide an innovative framework to enhance federal support of state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecution authorities in enhancing public safety.

PSP began as a pilot program, the Violence Reduction Network, in 2014 and is designed to promote interagency coordination by leveraging specialized law enforcement expertise with dedicated prosecutorial resources to promote public and community safety.

PSP serves as a DOJ-wide program that enables participating sites to consult with and receive expedited, coordinated training and technical assistance (TTA) and an array of resources from DOJ to enhance local public safety strategies. This model enables DOJ to provide jurisdictions of different sizes and diverse needs with data-driven, evidence-based strategies tailored to the unique local needs of participating cities to build their capacities to address violent crime challenges. PSP has engaged with more than 40 sites since the program’s inception.

DOJ is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights, increases access to justice, supports crime victims, protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community. The PSP initiative supports and advances DOJ’s principles in all of its activities.

PSP Approach

  • 3-Year Commitment
  • Strategic Site Liaison Assigned
  • Annual Violent Crime Summit
  • Expedited Delivery of Assistance in Eight Core Areas:
    • Community Engagement
    • Constitutional Policing
    • Crime Analysis
    • Criminal Justice Collaboration
    • Federal Partnerships
    • Gun Violence
    • Investigations
    • Technology
  • Peer Learning and Exposure to Communities of Practice

Notable Accomplishments

  • PSP TTA helped the Camden County Police Department streamline ballistics evidence processing, incorporate social network analysis, and integrate technology into daily operations. The department now acts as a model site for the PSP Technology Community of Practice and is highly recognized for its community engagement efforts.
  • The Flint Police Department improved property-room and evidence-storage policies through PSP TTA to enhance evidence collection, investigations, and clearance rates.
  • The Nashville Metropolitan Police Department enhanced community relationships through a collective efficacy initiative developed through PSP support, which contributed to a 42 percent reduction in serious violent crime from 2017 to 2018 in pilot neighborhoods.
  • Local, state, and federal partners in Memphis significantly strengthened collaborative efforts through PSP on public safety initiatives, such as the Carjacking Initiative. Coordinating investigations and prosecutions to address carjackings contributed to a decrease in carjacking incidents in 2019.
  • The Tulsa Police Department received state and federal funding in 2019 to launch a victim services program and hire victim advocates. PSP provided support for these efforts through TTA to assist the department with learning best practices for law enforcement-based victim services. The victim specialists are now integral partners in all violent crime investigations.
  • The Cleveland, Ohio, Division of Police (CDP) engaged in a homicide investigations and prosecutions assessment in October 2019. As a result, the CDP increased the number of homicide detectives from 12 to 18, changed its on-call schedule to enhance the Homicide Unit’s effectiveness, improved its “Murder Book” concept, and implemented a 90-day review of open cases.
  • The Davenport, Iowa, Police Department (DPD) focused on developing a regional approach to gun crime through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). The DPD purchased NIBIN technology in 2019, which has resulted in 589 investigative cases entered, generating more than 255 investigative leads.
  • In January 2020, the Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) completed a grant landscape review. That year, the HCSO received an Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Community Policing Development Microgrants Program Award. The HCSO grant manager also implemented a grant committee with representatives from the HCSO, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office—Southern District of Texas, which meets quarterly to discuss funding needs and potential opportunities.
  • The Federal Bureau of Investigation provided advanced training and investigative support to the Wichita, Kansas, Police Department (WPD) using forensic genealogy and ancestry approaches, resulting in positive outcomes for multiple cold cases. Despite difficult circumstances during the pandemic, the WPD concluded 2020 with a 100 percent solve rate for all 2020 homicides.

To read more information about the sites, click here.

PSP Site Team

Site team structure
  • Mayor police icon

    Executive Leadership

    Executive leadership provides oversight and support.

  • Points of Contact icon

    Points of Contact

    United States Attorneys’ Offices and law enforcement leadership serve as local points of contact and coordinate activities and services for the PSP sites.

  • DOJ Champion icon

    DOJ Program Office Champion

    A DOJ Program Office Champion serves as the point of contact for the site to effectively navigate access to DOJ programmatic resources.

  • Strategic Site Liaison

    A Strategic Site Liaison (SSL) works with each site to coordinate project services and support enhancement of the site’s violence reduction efforts.

  • Police icon

    DOJ Federal Law Enforcement

    Federal Law Enforcement partners from ATF, DEA, the FBI, and USMS assign points of contact to serve as liaisons to navigate DOJ law enforcement resources available to the sites.

  • PSP Program Advisor

    A PSP Program Advisor, provided by BJA’s TTA provider, supports the site’s violence reduction efforts.