Montgomery County, PA

 

 

 

 

 

Project Safe Neighborhoods is an initiative started in 2001 by the United States Department of Justice to target and prosecute violent firearms offenders, thereby removing them from our streets and making our neighborhoods safer.  Each of the District Attorneys in the counties comprising the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are provided the opportunity to nominate prosecutors to become sworn as Special Assistant United States Attorneys.  In this capacity, county prosecutors are specifically trained to recognize and analyze cases that may fit within the goals of the program.

 

Specifically, if one of the cross-designated prosecutors identifies a defendant with an open matter in the county court system, and that defendant has a particulary long and/or violent criminal past, a propensity for violence, a history of disrespect of the firearms laws of the state or federal system, or other characteristics that pose a distinct danger to the community related to a firearms violation or a firearm violation in connection with drug trafficking, the prosecutor can recommend that the federal government adopt criminal prosecution of the case.  Cases are likely to be adopted where mandatory penalties and sentencing guidelines call for harsher sentences in federal court than state court.

 

Once the case is adopted federally, a Special Assistant United States Attorney with extensive knowledge of the matter is responsible for prosecuting the case in federal court.  District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman is a strong supporter of this initiative and is dedicated to expanding its application to cases in Montgomery County.  In that regard, District Attorney Ferman has assigned two full-time prosecutors to Project Safe Neighborhoods.   

 

Project Safe Neighborhoods has proven successful Montgomery County.  Many individuals have been successfully prosecuted for firearms violations, resulting in lengthy jail sentences for all who choose to ignore our gun laws.  For a closer look at some of the defendants convicted under Project Safe Neighborhoods and the sentences they received click here.