A federal program meant to reduce and prevent crimes in neighborhoods will be expanding its efforts across Fort Worth, federal and local officials announced Tuesday.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) will get a second location in Fort Worth. This is an ongoing effort throughout North Texas, Ryan Raybould, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said during a press conference.
The second zone will encompass neighborhoods and commercial areas east and west along I-35 West with Highway 30 at the northern border and Seminary Drive near the southern point, according to Raybould.
"The newly expanded Fort Worth PSN zone is an area plagued with violence, gangs, drugs, and firearms offenses," Raybould said. "Going forward, as a collaborative effort, our mission is to remove violent criminals from these streets and restore safety to our homes and businesses."
The efforts come as all eyes are on North Texas while the region prepares to host the FIFA World Cup this summer.
The program offers partnerships from several agencies, including the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, Fort Worth Police Department, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Drug and Enforcement Agency, FBI, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
PSN was launched by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2001 to "identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them."
The division in Fort Worth began in 2013 and focused on the "Stop 6/Poly" and "Seminary" neighborhoods in Southeast Fort Worth. The Dallas division started in 2018. Last month, Dallas FBI officials announced it would be expanding its initiative.
"The good citizens of Fort Worth, your neighborhood is just about to be safer," Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said at Tuesday's conference. "Because of this collaboration and to the chucklehead outlaws that may catch this — the light will be left on."
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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