Local law enforcement agencies will be teaming up with federal prosecutors and state and federal law organizations that will target violent crime in Garden City and Wichita.
That announcement came Thursday morning by U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister in a press conference held in Wichita for a program titled Project Safe Neighborhoods.
William Votypka, Deputy Finney County Attorney, attended the press conference on behalf of the office, which will be involved in the new program.
“It’s a great, great opportunity for collaboration with state and federal authorities,” Votypka said in a telephone interview. “It’s a greater financial mechanism with other agencies and gives us more avenues to deal with violent crime in our area.”
The Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative will prioritize federal prosecutions of repeat offenders and convicted criminals who carry firearms in the two cities, where violent crime rates are higher than average for Kansas.
“Violent crime rates are on the rise in both cities,” McAllister said. “By working together, we can size up the problems and concentrate our resources where we get the best results. Our goal is to make both communities safer.”
(Read more: News – The Garden City Telegram)